


Connie Swap Episode 39: Shattered Dreams

by br42, BurdenKing, MjStudioArts, NeonJohn



Series: Connie Swap [39]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Anxiety, Art, Drama, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks, Gen, Momswap, Pictures, Romance, Shattered Gems, Slice of Life, Steven Universe AU, connverse - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-01-29 21:34:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 53,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21417022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/br42/pseuds/br42, https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurdenKing/pseuds/BurdenKing, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MjStudioArts/pseuds/MjStudioArts, https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeonJohn/pseuds/NeonJohn
Summary: P2 has agreed to help the Crystal Gems with their unorthodox solution to the Cluster. Bubbles are burst, and not just three yellow ones.
Relationships: Amethyst & Pearl (Steven Universe), Amethyst (Steven Universe) & Original Character(s), Bismuth & Crystal Gems (Steven Universe), Blue Diamond & Pink Diamond & Yellow Diamond (Steven Universe), Connie Maheswaran & Steven Universe, Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Crystal Gems & Connie Maheswaran, Doug Maheswaran/Priyanka Maheswaran, Greg Universe/Original Female Character(s), Jasper & Lapis Lazuli & Peridot (Steven Universe), Jasper & Lapis Lazuli (Steven Universe), Jasper & Peridot (Steven Universe), Jasper & Pink Diamond (Steven Universe), Lapis Lazuli & Peridot (Steven Universe), Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe), Pearl/Rose Quartz (Steven Universe), Pink Diamond & Original Gem Character(s) (Steven Universe), Pink Diamond & Spinel (Steven Universe)
Series: Connie Swap [39]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/630527
Comments: 206
Kudos: 120





	1. Un, Deux, Truce?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you're curious, the promo picture comes from this classic piece of advertising:  


Connie trudged up to her loft, still feeling the minty burn of her toothpaste in her mouth, and felt wrung out. Harvest Festival, the drill's data on the Cluster, Pearl _leaving_ \--even through the haze of exhaustion, that still left Connie aching, the emotional equivalent of a cracked rib-- summoning her sword in the Sanctuary to challenge Bismuth, then coming home to find Mom leaving abruptly 'to think.'

It had been a looong day and Connie wanted nothing more than to sleep for a week and then wake up with her life made magically less complicated. And not gem magic, either, because that didn't seem to make _anything_ simpler. No, she wanted the no-consequences, authorial fiat, plot hole-inducing, deus ex machina kind of magic.

Maybe you needed a wand for that.

Connie crawled under the covers, made a brief glance at the foot of her bed --no ominous bird was waiting for her there, and the emotional rib ached anew-- then laid her head on the pillow and breathed out slowly, eyes closing.

Blindly she groped around her nightstand until she found and activated the noise-cancelling device her Mom had gifted her as a birthday present. She set a mental alarm for 'a week from now' as her thoughts dissolved into fuzzy nothing and sleep claimed her soon after.

* * *

There was a bright flash of light from the warp pad. _Mom must be back,_ a corner of Connie blearily observed, the girl refusing to roll over and look. She wasn't sure how much time had passed but it certainly hadn't been a week so she wasn't budging.

Then a floating finger wafted over and prodded Connie.

The girl screwed her eyes shut and pulled the covers completely over her head. Whatever it was, Mom could wait. A week of sleep wasn't too unreasonable a request, right? In a unanimous vote, the rest of Connie agreed and the motion carried.

It was only after the third floating finger prod that a lone voice in Connie HQ remarked how Mom had been limb enhancer-less for quite some time now and therefore didn't have floating fingers to poke her awake with.

Connie's eyes snapped open, her right hand seized the saber beside her bed, and the girl spun to her feet as the ice water surging through her veins forced her tired body into motion.

From the living room below P2 smiled and said something that was swallowed up by the noise-cancelling device on the nightstand. Amethyst, meanwhile, had shapeshifted her arms to cartoonish lengths and was using them to brachiate rafter-to-rafter unhurriedly across the room. Mom was halfway up the stairs to her loft and gave Connie an apologetic look.

Connie's dreams weren't usually this weird so, somehow, this must really be happening. Without having the foggiest idea what was going on, or why, or who was responsible, she felt offended in a nonspecific way.

A particularly contemplative corner of Connie worried this was how adults like Dad and Priyanka felt _all the time._

As Connie disabled the device on her nightstand she saw that it was just past three in the morning which, as the adrenaline in her system started to ebb, matched the enormous yawn that ripped itself out of the girl just then.

"My apologies, dear. I'll explain everything as soon as I've gathered the others," Mom said, pausing partway up. Then whipping around, she barked, "Don't touch that!"

Both P2 and Amethyst froze where they were in the living room, each reaching for something different, each looking guilty.

"Mom?" and Connie's voice sounded very small and plaintive just then. "What's going on?"

Mom was already fishing her phone out of the satchel she had slung over one shoulder. She looked up and, to Connie's surprise, gave the girl an _enlightened_ smile. "I had a very productive time thinking."

* * *

"Another truce?!" exclaimed Lapis, glancing at the group before going back to watching Amethyst like a hawk. The short Quartz was near Lapis' bookshelf and there had been one incident already. "Tomorrow will it be my turn to find an enemy and invite them over to chill?"

Years of drilling about vigilance meant Connie couldn’t bring herself to sit down in the presence of two potential threats. As such she was standing near Mom, who was positioned near the middle of the room like a speaker at a debate. Or a referee about to intervene.

Wolf was still presumably wherever he’d gone to avoid Pearl during her stay and therefore absent from all this. Which, now that Connie spared a second to think about it, might have been because the pale gem had secretly been storing Rose in her gemstone the whole time.

Between that and Wolf’s immediate hostility to the Rose-possessed Steven, Connie was wondering if she literally had an evil-detecting dog.

"Who's left to bring over?" asked Bismuth, amused and running with Lapis’ remark.

"Rose Quartz," answered Jasper and several members of the group made displeased faces.

"Hard pass," said Lapis, not taking her eyes off the purple Quartz loitering near her window seat. "Hmm, I've got beef with Plato for popularizing the Atlantis story. Maybe I go get a shovel and we can _Weekend at Bernie's_ it up instead."

P2, meanwhile, was looking around the Beach House interior with rapt attention, a permanent, excited grin on her mottled face. With her limb enhancers, she was the third-tallest person in the room. Every time Connie saw the gem's silhouette in her peripheral vision it was simultaneously very familiar and very confusing all at once. The girl was having to work through a modest but constant trickle of cognitive dissonance as her recent mental image of Mom clashed with the one she'd been raised to expect.

At least Mom never had that silly triangle hair.

Lapis' words permeated and Connie shook her head. "Harder pass," she added on the very slight but horrifying chance that Lapis wasn't completely joking. Then, turning to Mom, she said, "What would the truce be for? Is this just a cease fire or is it something else?"

She felt like there was a better way of asking that question but Connie HQ was still in disarray. There hadn't been time for Connie to get more than five minutes of Colored Perception time, which meant she wasn't dead on her feet anymore but she still felt fuzzy-headed and a little sluggish.

"What's the objective?" clarified Jasper, giving Connie an approving nod.

"As we realized previously, there is a dearth of direct solutions for how to prevent the Cluster from forming to apocalyptic effect," explained Mom. "As such, I tried to formulate indirect solutions instead. And one is-"

P2, whose baseline mood seemed to be chipper exuberance, exploded with excitement, interjecting while literally bouncing in place. "I will use my significant skills of shard sculpting to reassemble the collection of Pink Diamond's shards you misguided rebels possess! Then, after Pink Diamond praises me for restoring her to an approximation of intactness and signs a digital photo of the two of us posing together, you'll be able to ask her to prevent the Cluster from forming and destroying the Earth colony in the process!"

"Misguided?" asked Bismuth, frowning. One hand shifted into a scimitar before shifting back.

"You're gonna Frankenstein Pink Diamond back together-" said Lapis, skeptically, "-and then try and take a selfie with her?"

"How would Pink Diamond stop the Cluster?" asked Jasper.

Connie looked at the warrior and was surprised at what she saw. To an outsider it probably looked like Jasper was standing at attention, vigilant and ready for action if needed. But Connie had gotten very good at interpreting the notoriously poker-faced Quartz' mood, and to her discerning eye, Jasper's demeanor was grim. It was the sort of thing Connie would expect to see when the Quartz was contemplating a fighting retreat after a conflict had gotten too dicey. Surely Jasper wasn't frightened of P2 and Amethyst, so what had her so unsettled?

Mom once more opened her mouth to speak and once more she was interrupted by P2. "She would be integrated into the still-incubating Cluster. Her powerful Diamond personality and inherent authority could allow her to become the nucleus of the nascent Cluster's identity. Then she could stop 'herself' from forming, at least for long enough to make alternative solutions to the Cluster's formation viable," exclaimed the mottled gem happily. "It's a brilliant idea!"

The sound of a throat clearing caused heads to turn in Mom's direction, the shorter gem folding her arms across her chest. "It's my idea."

"Which I will be enacting," countered P2, rocking excitedly on her gravity connectors. "P2: the first Peridot to ever reassemble a Diamond!" She gave a shiver of anticipatory delight.

"And no touching her stuff," growled Amethyst, joining the conversation by pointing to P2's limb enhancers. "Or I break yours." She gave every rebel gem in the room a fierce glare with her sole visible eye.

Bismuth looked skeptically at the pair of nominal enemies. Then she gave a small shake of her head and turned to Mom. "Even if Spots over there can put Pink Diamond back together like a puzzle missing a quarter of the pieces, what makes you think Pink Diamond is going to do anything but laugh in our faces? She's an upper crust. _The_ upper crust. And-" her hand tapping lightly at the weapon on her hip, "-I doubt she'll just forget about that whole shattering _Bismuth_ either."

P2 laughed at the joke --"Ha! It's funny because your name sounds like the word 'business!'"-- earning a surprised but pleased look from the smith.

“Don’t encourage her,” countered Lapis, because the blue gem could allow no compliment to Bismuth to go unanswered. “She’s bad enough without it.”

Bismuth stuck out her tongue and made a gesture which, Connie assumed, was obscene among gems.

"It's hardly a sure thing but we are sorely lacking in alternatives," explained Mom, ignoring the peanut gallery. "However, the Cluster as it exists now cannot be stopped physically nor is it capable of being reasoned with. A reconstituted Pink Diamond, however ill-disposed towards us she may be, has the _capacity_ for discourse. Many of the Cluster’s shards belonged to her former subjects. She may wish to rule them anew, albeit in an unorthodox manner. Or perhaps her continued existence would be motivation enough to entertain cooperation: if the Earth is destroyed, she would be destroyed with it after all. Again, tenuous strategies but with her there may be leverage where there is presently none."

Connie shuffled a little closer, giving Mom's arm an affirming squeeze when she heard Jasper speak.

"She loved the Earth."

All eyes turned to face the Quartz, who was looking uncomfortable in her subtle way. "Differently than Citrine," continued the orange gem. "Wanted it for gemkind even if that was bad for the organics. But she loved the Earth."

Mom was as surprised by this source of support as anyone else. "You're certain of this, Jasper?"

The Quartz gave a single nod, mouth flattening into a line. "I was there," and she didn't elaborate further.

A second of silence stretched out and then Lapis swatted Amethyst's creeping hand away from a hairstyling manga with a quick flick of a water wing. "Alright, so we have a plan. But how are we going to work with these two? I don't trust either of them and the jury's still out on whether I even like 'em." She shot another warning look at the purple thief near her precious media collection.

"I like you," said P2.

"You do?" replied Lapis, caught off guard.

"Certainly," answered P2. She flashed Lapis a wide smile.

After a pause, Lapis brushed some of her flowing hair over her shoulder. "What do you like about me?"

"Lapis?" asked Connie, warningly.

"Oh hush, it's in the name of diplomacy, Con-Con." Then, back to P2, she said, "Go on."

"I found some of your mid-combat banter amusing back when you were clashing with Rose Quartz," a remark which brought decidedly mixed reactions from everyone present. Undeterred, P2 continued, saying, "Your form is very aesthetically pleasing and based on your complexion and hydrokinetic strength, I infer that you have almost no pyrite impurities at all."

Bismuth leaned in, looking sly. "I'm told there are freckles."

P2 peered at Lapis. "Really? Where?"

Before Lapis could answer, Mom jumped in (literally), stepping between mottled green gem and blue. _"That_ is quite enough of that. I would prefer to return to Laz' _original_ concern vis-à-vis the nature of the truce between our respective groups."

At that, Amethyst hopped down from the window seat and stood beside P2. "Yeah," she said, arms crossed.

"Peridot Facet-2B2Y-"

"While on Earth, I'm enjoying the name 'P2,' actually."

Mom gave an acknowledging nod. "P2 has already configured the Communication Hub to broadcast to Homeworld in the event that her limb enhancers are destroyed or taken, or if she feels like she has otherwise been betrayed. And I have, on behalf of all of us-" and Mom gave the whole group hard looks, "-agreed not to attempt to subvert those precautions as a demonstration of good faith. Which is to say that this agreement need not entirely be founded on trust as each side has leverage all its own. P2 will need to be guided to Pink Diamond's shards and allowed, with supervision, to operate upon them. She should be given our respect and cooperation provided she returns it in-kind.” A beat and then, in a firm voice, she added, “I remind you all that we are united for the common cause of survival. Global survival."

There were nods from around the room.

"As for Amethyst, I think you would find P2's work tedious and the Beach House-" she spared a glance at Lapis. "-Problematic for a lengthy stay. As such I would like to extend to you the barn dwelling you and the Pearl inhabited before as an alternative domicile for the duration of this truce."

Connie was going to object on the Universes' behalf --it was their barn even if they had been extremely generous and understanding in its repeated appropriation by gemkind-- but they'd made it explicit that they wanted to help and her mental image of Mrs. Universe was more than happy to offer the barn up if it helped keep half of her son's nominal kidnappers away from Beach City in general and Steven specifically.

She made a mental note to talk to Steven and his parents as soon as it was an hour of the day fit for such matters.

Amethyst shook her head. "So you jerks can split me up from le seul gemme on this planet who hasn't betrayed me yet?" The ire in Amethyst's eye was sharp. "I don't think so."

"Biggs," said Connie, the girl surprised at the word coming out of her own mouth. She really wished she'd had enough time to magic herself fully awake.

"Quoi?"

"You can also visit Biggs," added Connie, frantically trying to keep up with her own thoughts. "The pack alpha? She's not in a bubble anymore because I tried to heal her corruption like I promised you I would." _When you and Pearl were about to blast off into space, before everything had gone completely wrong,_ she remembered. "She's in a place called the Sanctuary which is very peaceful. You could visit her." She turned to face Mom. "She could visit her, right?"

Mom looked at Connie, a little surprised at the rapid-fire diplomacy that had just taken place, then looked at Amethyst to gauge her reaction. The purple gem was similarly thrown, her earlier aura of menace completely forgotten.

"That-" Mom started to say, watching Amethyst throughout. "-Would be acceptable. I will grant you limited warp access so you can come and go between the two locations freely." A beat. "If you would be amenable," she prompted.

Amethyst opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out, the gem only hurriedly nodding her head, emotionally off-balance at the prospect of visiting a member of the family she'd had taken away and then been forced to leave behind.

"You're going to need some way of getting down to the Cluster if all this works out, Green," said Bismuth, filling the silence.

"I thought we had the drill for that," objected Lapis.

Mom shook her head. "The drill was built for autonomous operation in extreme conditions and high-fidelity scanning, not conveying passengers to and fro." Nodding to Bismuth she said, "Yes, a vehicle for ascending and descending the drillway will be vital to dealing with the Cluster irrespective of the particulars of our plan. As it is meant to be piloted rather than autonomous, I trust you'll be able to manufacture the craft yourself without my aid?"

Bismuth gave a dismissive wave and a smile. "Yeah, Green. I can manage a glorified mine shaft elevator. Besides, I want to make sure it's roomy enough for our special guest." A beat. "Or anything else we happen to want to cart down there."

Connie wasn't sure what exactly the smith meant but she had no doubt it fell under the umbrella of 'ordinance' -- it wouldn't be a Bismuth design without weapons or room for carrying the same.

P2 clapped her hand-equivalents together, grinning. "Excellent! I must say that you're all far less savage than I was expecting!"

"Aesthetically pleasing too," added Bismuth, to the annoyance of many and the amusement of few.

"Jasper, I'd like for you to escort P2 to the shards," instructed Peridot, earning a curt nod from the Quartz.

"I'll go too," added Connie because this had ‘important mission’ written all over it. A beat. "Wait, you're not coming, Mo- ma'am?"

Mom shook her head. "I'll be along after. First, I should see Amethyst situated. Also-" and the green gem looked oddly apprehensive. "-Lapis, I would appreciate if you accompanied me. There is a matter of which I would like to speak with you about."

Lapis blinked. "Sure, Dotty." She gave the members of the group staying behind a look. "Have fun with the mad science, you three."

"Happy science," corrected P2 and Connie honestly couldn't tell if she was being snarky or completely earnest. "And we will!" the gem cheered.

Bismuth warped away while Connie was shouldering her mission backpack. Mom, Lapis, and Amethyst followed soon after, Mom and Lapis waving goodbye as the temple door opened on the Beta Kindergarten (or likeness thereof) at dusk.

"Let's go," said Jasper, radiating that curiously apprehensive vibe from before, and she led the group inside.

* * *

Peridot and Lapis each offered a small wave to Amethyst as she stepped into the Sanctuary grounds before the pair warped away. Getting the overcooked Quartz situated had taken longer than Peridot would have liked, but she was finding obstacles like these easier to accept after her recent epiphanies.

While traversing warp space, Laz turned to Peridot and said, "If this is about P2 being kinda flirty to me in a brick-to-the-face-with-a-compliment-tied-to-it sorta way, you don't-" but she was waved into silence by her green companion.

"No, Laz. I was surprised but not offended by P2's clumsy conversational advances. Whenever I find myself vexed at her banter I try and remind myself of how... overwhelmed I too had been while still new to Earth and surrounded by gemetic paragons."

Peridot looked down and fidgeted, seeing the destination warp pad receive them at the Beach House. The constellation of metal fixtures and devices appeared to Peridot's metallokinetic sense and it was a comfort; though it hadn’t been long, it was rapidly being integrated into her many-layered conception of _Home._

The two drifted into the middle of the living room, Lapis looking a little apprehensive. The blue gem brushed some stray hair behind her ear. "Oh, good. I was- I mean, with her having- And you-" Laz grimaced at her own inarticulateness and sighed before facing Peridot directly, a self-effacing smile crossing her features. "That's very enlightened of you, Dot," she said finally.

Peridot offered a small grin back. "A serendipitous choice of words, Laz." She led the two of them over to the couch. If her metal sense wasn't mistaken, there was a piece of cutlery wedged deep in the cushions and she had to resist the urge to fish the long lost (and potentially filthy) utensil out. While this new sensory modality already felt natural to her, she had to resist the temptation of letting it distract her from a difficult task.

Staring at the metal coffee table, she said, "My earlier retreat to seclusion was very... transformative. And part of that was me being galvanized into recognizing that-" She took a deep breath, then faced Lapis. "-That you are long overdue for an apology."

Lapis blinked. "Really? That must have been some walk."

"It was." Another deep breath. "Ever since you, wisely, refused to fuse with me to form Hiddenite, I have been... unpleasant. Actually, this goes back further to the wake of my limb enhancers being destroyed, though even that is merely symptomatic of a more deeply-seated sense of insecurity that has existed within me for the whole of my tenure on Earth. Arguably even since my emergence and the differences between Era-1 and Era-2 gems was made clear to me, so-"

A single blue finger touched Peridot on the lips. "Whoa, easy there, Peri Sagan. I'm worried that if I don't interrupt you then you'll work your way back to blaming this all on some especially anxious molecules created in the wake of the Big Bang. This is about Hiddenite?" she asked.

"This is about me," corrected Peridot. "For so long I attributed much of my value as a Crystal Gem to what my limb enhancers enabled me to do. When they were destroyed, so too went much of my sense of self-worth. And with that, I became alternately distraught and bad-tempered. You sought to comfort me-" She reached out and patted Lapis affectionately on the knee. "-And you were the voice of restraint when one was needed. And in response, I vented much of my frustrations upon you in a wholly undeserved manner." Peridot slumped where she was seated, eyes drifting once more down to the table.

There was a beat of silence and then Peridot found herself pulled into a surprise half-hug, the gem goggling with bewilderment.

"Congratulations, Dot," said Lapis, not happily but with more energy than expected. "That monkey's paw or ironic curse or karmic payback has finally come due: you were the self-absorbed a-hole wallowing in self-pity while lashing out at others and I was the one trying to pull you out of the emotional ditch you'd gotten stuck into." She made a quick look around the living room then shrugged and said, "I'd toss some confetti into the air but we seem to be out."

"You're-" Peridot looked quizzically at Lapis. "Lapis, my behavior was unacceptable. I can only imagine what you had to-" but she was silenced via a rebuke-by-raspberry.

Noisy retort complete, Lapis said, "You can only imagine? Dot, think back to April. You know, when I got back from a three-month pity party of one and was an insufferable twerp until Con-con tazed the stupid out of me. Remember that? And that was just the latest example. You've dealt with me being an absolute Agate enough times over the last four centuries and counting that you've more than earned your swim in the emotional cesspool. That I was the lifeguard on duty-" She paused to chuckle at her unintended scatological pun. "-Wasn’t character, it was long-overdue karma." The hug this time was more than half. "I'm just glad to have you back, Dot."

Peridot sat there simultaneously feeling chagrin, self-reproach, and immense pride. She decided to portray that last one, beaming a smile up at Lapis who had not only been the voice of maturity when Peridot had been petulant but was now being self-effacing amidst praise. It made her wonder if Lapis had, in her own way, undergone a similarly transformative experience. Had Jasper as well? Bismuth? How much had Peridot overlooked while she'd been emotionally compromised?

"While I don't think an accounting of past deeds --or misdeeds, as is the case-- would be productive line of conversation," said Peridot, leaning into the embrace, "I do want you to know that your behavior was noticed and appreciated even if only after the fact."

The two pulled apart, Lapis' return smile reaching perhaps 12.5% of her eyes rather than the previous 0%. Then the blue gem said, "You know, this really smart gal I used to date had a phrase for times like this."

Peridot blinked. She'd heard of some of Lapis' Rebellion-era paramours but none, in her opinion, had intelligence as their stand out quality.

"She said," continued Lapis, "'Wherever this goes, let it be forward.'"

Understanding dawned within Peridot, the words, "I said that!" tumbling out.

Lapis rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Of course I meant you, you goober. And my point is, yeah, you were a drag when you were feeling bad. You won't read about that in the paper because 'unhappy person was a pain' isn't news. But you're better now, and I'm better, sorta, so let's just try and be better. Together."

Peridot's smile this time was completely unadulterated and, in keeping with their previous progression, this was now a one-and-a-half hug the two shared.

A long moment stretched out into two, neither of them in much hurry to move on despite Lapis' recitation of Peridot's own advice. Or maybe that was specious thinking: perhaps they were moving forward, it was simply into a continuum of causality that involved a statistically significant proliferation of hugs.

Peridot would be amenable to that.

Eventually they separated, though Peridot scooched in close and rested her head on Lapis' shoulder. The blue gem chuckled, the sound reverberating through her form and into Peri's. "Where the heck did you go walking, Dot? Because I’m pretty sure I should visit it. Jasper too. And BM- You know, now that I think about it, we could all use a walk that good."

"I can take you there sometime, Laz," purred Peridot. "It was an evergreen forest on the Indian subcontinent."

"Oh? And what'd you think about?"

"The primacy of technological progress and how true efficacy lies within one's scientific understanding rather than the tools used to wield it."

The silence stretched out.

"Huh." Then Peridot felt Lapis nuzzle her hair, the blue gem saying, "So you're not feeling small anymore?"

Peridot shook her head, pleased to imagine it tickling Lapis’ face in the process. "I am not. The destruction of my original limb enhancers-"

She'd started thinking of them in those terms. She would, if given the opportunity, build new ones. And further replacements would follow as well because the ship of Theseus never stopped and neither did technological progression. It was her, specifically her skills and her intellect, that were the true driving force, and her tools were only superficial extensions of that core worth.

"-Was merely a setback. One I will overcome, particularly with the support you and others have so lovingly afforded me."

That a metal comb rose from an adjacent shelf and stroked Lapis' hair went unnoticed, old habit causing the hydrokinetic to assume it was an errant floating finger.

After some time passed Peridot begrudgingly allowed the needs of the rest of the world --literally, for the fate of the world was still very much at stake-- to intrude. She rose to her feet, Lapis doing the same, each smiling, each feeling a combination of contentment-borne lassitude and energizing warmth within. Then they strode in the direction of the temple door.

"Let's see if P2 has made a pass at Jasper too and, if so,” quipped Lapis, “whether she's able to put her own shards back together."

With a chuckle Peridot willed the temple door open onto Jasper's room.

It failed to open.

She shared a confused look with Lapis and then tried again.

Failure.

"Maybe OJ locked the door to her room to keep P2 from trying anything funny?" offered Lapis, the gem not looking particularly convinced by her own supposition.

Peridot willed the door to open to her workshop so she could gather some diagnostic gear.

The door remained closed.

"WHAT?!" squawked the green gem, alarm vying with disbelief for dominance within her outcry.

Scrambling across the living room, Peridot snatched up her satchel, half-grabbing, half-levitating the ersatz terminal into her grasp. She navigated menus and sub-menus, fervently seeking explanatory data.

Then she saw it and she fell over --literally fell over-- from sheer surprise.

"What's going on, Dot?" asked an anxious-sounding Lapis.

Rotating the terminal around for Lapis to see the screen, Peridot said in a numb voice, "The temple has been locked down. By a user with Diamond-tier authorization."

Blue brows furrowed. "Wait, but what gems have Diamond-tier authorization?"

"None do," said Peridot, the world still feeling distant and perplexing. "Except the Diamonds."

* * *

Behind Connie was Jasper's Kindergarten at dusk. She stood beside a P2 who was even more excited than usual and a Jasper who was physically battered and, more worryingly, acting downright gun-shy.

In front of Connie, however, the sandstone canyon ended and an incongruous stretch of opulently-tiled floor began. It was the floor to a room where the furniture, walls, and ceiling were scaled for giants. And standing in the center of that room stood three of them. Or rather two giants, one blue, one yellow, and one half-giant: Pink.

"This is all your fault," growled Jasper. One of her gloves had been knocked free and thus been reformed new. The other, however, was ripped in places, a long tear running through the yellow star on the back. She was using that hand to grip the part of her arm that was bruised worst.

P2 gave a manic giggle, hopping from foot to foot. "You're welcome!"

Connie heaved a sigh. "It wasn't a compliment."

P2 looked at her confused, her excitement dimmed but only briefly. "Whyever not? This is an unparalleled opportunity!"

Before Connie could elaborate further, Jasper gave a resigned grunt and stepped onto the tiled floor. "Let's get this over with," she said as the three giants began to speak to one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The promo picture was drawn by NeonJohn. A big cheers and thanks to him for the cool new logo and font! Also, because I think this kind of stuff is neat, here's a sketch of prospective promo ideas NeonJohn drew before settling on a variant of the 4th for final design.  
  
That 2nd one (top-right) shows Blue and Yellow Diamond's hands playing with Barbie!Pink Diamond while Citrine is about to rip the head off.
> 
> What the heck happened in Jasper's room? What's going to happen next? Tune in Wednesday, November 20th, to find out as _Shattered Dreams_ continues!
> 
> Okay, so I've got _all sorts_ of cool stuff that's come up between the end of Ep38 and now to share. First, let's start with the fan art!
> 
> These first two are by [Dante](https://bi-dante.tumblr.com/):  
  
  
You can see the original Tumblr posts [here](https://bi-dante.tumblr.com/post/188654501681/tigers-eye-but-her-stripes-look-like-a-tigers) and [here](https://bi-dante.tumblr.com/post/188568404943/jasper-teaching-a-young-connie-about-her-quartz). You can find more of Dante's art on their [Tumblr page](https://bi-dante.tumblr.com/).
> 
> The next is by [Darkspirit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkspirit/pseuds/Darkspirit) (a.k.a. Tusquets on the CS Discord), and is a reference to the [new canon omake](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10673391/chapters/50803228) that went up recently. This pic is entitled _Ruler of the Skies:_  

> 
> On a related note, there are two new omakes to share:  
*) [Peridot’s What-If Machine: What if the schism between Citrine and Rose never happened and Rose had been there to raise Connie?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12265302/chapters/50593778) by [br42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/br42/pseuds/br42) \- "A single moment changes the Rebellion and countless lives, Connie's included."
> 
> *) [Power Testing: Metallokinesis](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10673391/chapters/50803228) by [br42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/br42/pseuds/br42) \- "Lapis, Jasper, Bismuth, Connie, and Steven spend the day testing Peridot's new ability to sense and manipulate metal. Observations, both scientific and decidedly unscientific, are made." **This fic is 100% canon.**
> 
> **Edit:** And here's the episode bingo card, courtesy of BinaryGeek and other delightful theorists from the Connie Swap Discord, armed only with the episode summary and their own speculation. On a related note, bingo speculation/suggesting is open to all, not just the regulars on the CS Discord. If you want to get in on the fun, or want to join the ongoing theory discussions, feel free to drop by the Connie Swap Discord.  

> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	2. Along for the Override

\--Earlier--

Connie stood to one side of P2 while Jasper flanked her on the other, the pair having moved into that formation wordlessly as they entered the liminally-lit sandstone canyon of Jasper's room. This way they'd be able to intercept P2 if she tried to run off. This way she'd have to swivel from side-to-side to fire on them. A small corner of Connie hummed with voiceless pride at following her Quartzine instructor's training so effortlessly.

She drew herself up a little straighter, shoulders squared in an imitation of Jasper's own proud and at-ready pose.

"Is this is a simulation of Earth's Beta Kindergarten?" asked P2, whose head was swiveling around, trying to take in all the details. If she had any concern about the situation or any combat training to draw on, her act as a guileless non-combatant was flawless.

"Yes," was Jasper's one-word answer.

"Did you emerge within the real counterpart to this Kindergarten?" asked P2.

Connie had to do little surreptitious jogs now and again to keep up with the long-legged duo.

"Yes."

P2 paused to examine an exit hole that was at an angle, more sideways than upright. "And are the exit holes really this sloppy there?" her voice a blend of excitement and incredulity.

"Yes."

"Will I get to see your exit hole while we are in here?" asked the mottled gem. 

"Yes."

P2 bounced as she walked, clearly pleased at the answer. "Your form is exquisite. Gemetically speaking, you're- you're-"

"Perfect," answered Jasper, a statement rather than a suggestion.

"Yes! A perfectly-formed Jasper! Which means your hole must be perfect as well. Getting to see your hole, to examine it thoroughly, would be a delight. I can't wait to explore it completely!"

Connie, meanwhile, was trying, trying oh-so-hard to master her expression to match the alert stoicism that Jasper maintained effortlessly. But in the space of her own thoughts she was thinking loudly, _I AM SO GLAD LAPIS ISN'T HERE RIGHT NOW._

When P2 looked like she was going to continue to rhapsodize Jasper's hole, Connie, fearful that she'd break down into a very un-Quartzy giggle-fit, changed the subject by asking, "What do you need to do when we reach Pink Diamond's shards?"

Without missing a beat at the conversational shift, P2 said, "Reassembling a gem from their shards is delicate and exacting work. I'll first need to make a detailed scan of each shard so I can assess their condition, functionality, and topography. After that I will create a plan for reassembly and then begin the work itself." She puffed herself up, five floating fingers drifting to her chest as her chin rose with pride. "A task I am more than equal to. Of the few Peridots selected by my Diamond to undergo training, my work was the most highly praised. Why the flawless Yellow Diamond said my work was 'acceptable.'" She was practically skipping as they walked. "'Acceptable!' From Yellow Diamond herself! Can you believe it?!"

Connie, suddenly finding herself under the spotlight of P2's enthusiasm, blanched for a moment before giving a grunt that, she hoped, meant whatever it was P2 wanted to hear. She must have done it right because P2's already-wide grin widened further and she said, "Exactly! Ooh, this is going to be so much fun!"

While P2 continued to gabble, Connie spared a moment to silently praise the versatility of grunts. Her eyes drifted over and found Jasper's, the two having a moment of shared, wordless understanding.

Then they rounded a corner and came to a stretch of canyon where a silhouette dominated the wall, larger than any others they'd passed, its arms raised in a perpetual flex. Numerous yellow bubbles glowed within.

P2 gasped and, her voice dropping into a hushed whisper, she said, "You have a _magnificent_ hole, Jasper."

Connie managed to only choke very, very quietly.

Before P2 could scramble into Jasper's hole, the large Quartz placed a hand on her shoulder stopping her in her tracks. The green gem looked up, surprised, and Jasper shook her head.

"Bubbles," said the Warrior. Then she made a small beckoning gesture with her other hand and a trio of yellow bubbles wafted down, one after another. Pink shards tinged yellow floated within.

P2's mouth became an 'o' as she gazed into the first bubble like someone peering into a fortune-teller's crystal ball. Her reverent 'oooh' transformed into a manic giggle before rising into an outright squee, a sound which seemed completely at odds with the quiet, somber, contemplative air that pervaded Jasper's room.

"I. Am looking. At the shards _of a Diamond!"_ added P2 in an excited whisper-shout.

"Is this what you need to begin your scan?" asked Connie.

P2 blinked as if she'd forgotten why they were there in the first place. "Oh. Yes. Yes, this is precisely what I need. Please..." She looked puzzlingly ahead before jabbing a floating finger toward the yellow sphere. "How do I command the bubble? Is there a control pad or menu I can interface with?"

"Where do you need it?" asked Jasper, radiating patience.

P2 pointed. Jasper gestured the bubble into place, then stepped back. Though not, Connie noticed, all that far back: Jasper the ever-watchful.

Reconfiguring her limb enhancers, P2 brought one and then the other to bear, faint green light sweeping over the bubble, three-dimensional models of individual shards slowly taking form in the holographic popups appearing around the technician's head.

Connie looked at the three bubbles full of shards, then at the slow progression of holographic models appearing. She did a bit of mental math and then suppressed a sigh. She'd probably have to find somewhere to sit before this was done; she wasn't actually a tireless and eternally vigilant Quartz despite sometimes trying to maintain the facade.

P2, meanwhile, gave a low titter of excitement, expression rapt as she studied the incoming data.

* * *

P2 didn't so much frown as smile _less_, the gem squinting at a holographic display before summoning her visor, data streaming across its inside. She made a disapproving hum.

"Problem?" asked Jasper.

Connie perked up from where she was resting on a horizontal force field. She could be insubstantial right now and be not only tireless but actually recovering from any lingering exhaustion... However, if P2 tried to do something suspicious, an insubstantial Connie wouldn't be able to intervene except to induce fear or panic, neither of which were likely to be helpful when delicate bubbles full of shards were present.

"I've started some preliminary reconstruction planning and the pieces in my simulation aren't finding valid connections."

The corners of Connie's mouth curled down as she took this in. "Maybe the connecting shards are in another bubble," she offered. It'd be like if you divided the pieces of a puzzle into three boxes: though not likely, it was possible that none of the pieces in the first box would interconnect.

P2 shook her head. "No. It's obvious from some related data that these four shards-" and a quartet of holographic displays appeared, each showing a jagged pink crystal, "-should be adjacent. I think my topographic modeling contains small flaws. The bubble must be interfering." Addressing Jasper, she said, "Please destroy it so I can repeat my scans."

Jasper gave the green gem a skeptical look for a long second before answering. "No." Then, as if she were explaining something to a particularly slow pupil, she added, "If the bubble is popped, the shards will reform."

P2 nodded. "I see. Yes, that would certainly complicate things," and she chuckled as if she'd just told a really funny joke. "However, I would have to make multiple scans for each shard to get a composite image that was accurate enough. And reassembling the shards is the funnest part!" insisted the gem impatiently.

Hoping to find out more, and to stop P2 from another disastrous attempt at smooth-talking, Connie asked, "How did you do this on Homeworld?" She rose from her seat and shifted from foot to foot, casually stretching her calves.

"Oh, all of my shard sculpting was done inside the Diamond Sanctum on the Zoo station," answered P2. "None of my assignments have been on Homeworld."

Connie blinked. _Oh, right. I think of 'Homeworld' as one big thing but I guess to gems like P2 it’s just one planet out of an entire empire._ "Oh. How'd you do it in the, uh, Diamond Sanctum then?"

"Well, I was never working with Diamond shards," said P2 quickly. "For training purposes, we use shattered gems from the lower castes: Rubies, Pearls-" and Connie flinched. "-Or sometimes a disgraced Quartz," and Jasper clenched a fist briefly in response. "But in those cases, destabilizers were trained on the specimens for the duration of the procedure."

"No destabilizers," said Connie and Jasper instantly and in unison. Maybe when the others were here, then someone other than P2 could train a destabilizer on one of the shards.

P2 came dangerously close to frowning. Then her expression brightened and she said, "It takes time for shards to form following bubble stasis. You could remove one from the bubble briefly while I scan it, then return it to the bubble and repeat until I'm ready to move on to the next shard."

Connie and Jasper considered this, the Quartz giving the girl an inquiring look and the girl answering with a small shrug.

You could transfer small things like shards through a bubble without popping said bubble. Connie had seen that in action more than a year ago when a shard had tried to sneak away in one of her sneakers and, after a brief altercation, been transferred back into its bubble by Mom. Unfortunately, they hadn't noticed the one that had snuck into Connie's outfit for the day, making for a rather more dramatic first impression with Steven than she would have preferred. Anyway, you had to be careful not to pop the bubble, which wasn't something Connie was worried about if it was Jasper who was doing it.

"Okay," answered Jasper. Gesturing the bubble over, the Quartz gingerly reached in, fingers sliding through the wall of the bubble to gently grasp an L-shaped pink shard floating within. Slowly, the Quartz brought fingers and then shard through, leaving the yellow bubble intact.

Held in the warrior's large palm, as if reflecting a light that wasn't there, the pink shard glistened. Then things got... confusing.

The sandstone floor of the canyon flickered like a glitching video game, accompanied by a crackle like a radio picking up static. Briefly the pink floor to a ballroom appeared in its place before glitching back to sandstone. Then a wall complete with a curtain appeared adjacent to Jasper. The wall was tall and a uniform soft, rosy color. The curtain, meanwhile, was probably twenty feet long and five feet wide, a somber shade of pink edging into red, and it was held in place by a heavy iron curtain rod. A split-second later the wall glitched away but the curtain remained.

Unsupported, fabric and iron rod both fell.

P2 made a startled noise and backpedaled. Connie hurried over nearby so she could protect the non-combatant if needed.

Jasper lunged aside, shard and bubble in tow while the heavy iron curtain rod hit the ground with a crash. However, another wall glitched into and then out of existence just long enough for Jasper's lunge to transform into a scaled up version of a bird hitting a window.

Connie was about to rush over and help when she noticed a flicker overhead. Face jerking up, she saw part of a grand, arched ceiling depicting gemkind expanding across the galaxy while Pink Diamond looked upon the Earth with saintly benediction. However, there did not appear to be walls to hold up this impressive ceiling and so the ceiling was coming rapidly down for Connie and P2 could get a _much closer look_ at it.

With a shout, Connie tackled P2 to the ground. Five force fields appeared in rapid succession: two vertical ones to either side of them, then a horizontal one atop those, then two angled fields coming to a point over that, the roof of her bunker meant to deflect more than directly oppose incoming force.

There was a _crash,_ someone was shouting --possibly Connie, she wasn't sure-- then Connie felt three of her force fields break in succession: the 'roof' and one of the walls. This time a green glow speared out, arresting the rubble before it could fall on Connie and P2. A beat later there was a huge sound of static and most of the ruined former-ceiling fizzled away.

Jasper emerged from a pile of rapidly-vanishing rubble, the shard and bubble sheltered under her stalwart form. She'd taken a hit but seemed undeterred.

"What was-" was as far as P2 got before twin pops like two balloons bursting silenced her.

Some rubble fizzled away and a number of twinkling pink shards were revealed, now absent the bubbles that had been housing them. All of them sparkled as if reflecting a light that wasn't there.

Not waiting to see what happened next, Connie half-hauled, half-dragged P2 into the shelter of a nearby emergence hole, several force fields appearing to seal them into their ad hoc shelter. Outside, tinted yellow, a riot of clashing scenes, objects, and even fleeting glimpses of other people appeared, clashing and crashing into one another like a surrealist apocalypse.

Two of the walls of their cramped shelter started to flicker at one point, the ground shifting to dry, grey, and dusty powder. Then the temperature plummeted, two of the walls were replaced with a star field, and Connie felt the air escaping her lungs. In an instant she was see-through, P2's and Jasper's 'scapes visible as well as brief sightings of mindscapes, like being passed by a car going the opposite direction on the highway and catching a fleeting glimpse of the person driving it.

P2's lips moved but Connie wouldn't have heard her even if they weren't in a vacuum, hemmed in by her force fields, one sandstone wall, and an open expanse of... the Moon? No Earth was visible so maybe they were on the dark side of it. She thought she recognized Orion's Belt above the dusty horizon but the stars looked different enough in a sky absent atmosphere that she wasn't certain.

Finally the non-sandstone surroundings crackled with visual static (and probably audible too, but Connie wouldn't know) then fell away, the star field reverting to bands of orange and brown stone. Outside the force field barriers there were now only two or three dueling visual motifs.

P2 said something else, gesturing as wildly as their hidey hole allowed. When Connie shrugged, P2 appeared to do the same thing only slower and louder, which worked exactly as poorly as one might expect. Finally the green gem made an exaggerated show of breathing in and out and Connie nodded in understanding.

Roughly ninety seconds later their cramped shelter became even moreso as Connie returned to tangibility. She was about to say something to the technician with an elbow jabbing her in the ribs when she heard a shout, a crash, and a bellow, all coming from Jasper somewhere beyond the limited area she could see through the emergence hole opening.

"Jasper!" shouted Connie, instantly regretting it as the sound reverberated back on her in her crowded, enclosed bunker. A few seconds later and the force fields vanished, Connie and P2 spilling out.

They were surrounded by pink garden-like grounds. Vibrantly-colored plants grew everywhere and a pink, geometrically-shaped fountain stood over a pad with the white, blue, yellow, and pink Diamond symbol decorating it. They were under an unfamiliar night sky with three moons or planets visible. But looking far to the left or right, Connie could see that after about thirty yards either direction the alien landscape transitioned back into the familiar sandstone canyon of Jasper's room.

For some reason, hazy but still visible, Jasper’s hole was visible, hanging in the air along one side of the garden, a tiny bit of canyon wall surrounding it. It was as if the perfect Quartz’ perfect emergence hole was as indomitable as the gem herself.

All of that flashed through Connie's awareness in an instant, however, because in the middle of the inexplicable garden was Jasper locked in a pitched brawl against... _an arm?_

A pink arm as long as Lapis was tall grabbed Jasper by the leg then whipped the large warrior around, slamming her first into a bed of blue flowers and then into a pink tile walkway with stone-cracking force. To judge from the thrashed state of swaths of the garden, this particular brawl had been going on for a while, and it had been none too gentle.

"Woo! Get 'em!" shouted an excited voice. "Give ‘er another!"

Connie whipped around and saw a silly pink-and-white gem with heart-shaped buns sitting atop one of the pillars lining the garden.

Before Connie could react to that, she heard a mighty bellow of rage delivered through closed-teeth from Jasper, the Quartz ripping up a flagstone from the ground and smashing it into the arm.

"Boo!" shouted the pink gem.

Grasped once more by the pink appendage, Jasper struggled for leverage, managed to get her feet under her, then lunged forward in a stationary spindash. The assailing limb hung on, whirling faster and faster until it was flung free... and hurtling towards Connie.

The girl was already in the process of pulling her sword from her gemstone and P2 had wisely fled behind the base of the same pillar the pink gem was spectating from. With no non-combatant to safeguard, Connie dove to the side and when she summoned a force field, it wasn't for anyone's protection.

The arm crashed into and through the field with considerable force, hitting the ground and rolling to a stop while trampling a colorful swath of flowers. In an instant Connie was on it hacking with her sword, as much electricity as she had managed to channel into it being discharged. The arm was exceptionally durable and harder to hack into than most gem monsters were, but between its fight with Jasper, smashing through a force field, and then being savaged by an electrified sword, the whole thing trembled and then poofed into a cloud of pink smoke.

A small pink shard dropped to the soil which Connie was quick to bubble.

"Ah, come on! Two against one? So unfair!" heckled the heart-haired gem, one arm spaghetti-ing out long enough to spell in cursive the word 'BOO', the second ‘o’ ending in a pink-gloved thumbs down. "That was _hands down_ the worst-" but her words were cut off as she, and then the rest of the alien garden, crackled away into static, the familiar sandstone walls of Jasper's room returned.

Jasper rose to her feet and began to limp over.

"Are you okay?!" asked Connie, meeting her halfway. Gesturing to the pack on her back, she said, "I have one of the vials of Rose tears in my pack if you're badly hurt."

Jasper didn't answer. The Quartz was haggard, looking like she'd just been ran through an industrial tumble dryer filled with anvils. Twice. She had one hand over a particularly nasty bruise on her arm, the glove that should have been there gone. That hand rose to her mouth, where she spat out a small, L-shaped pink shard.

The same she'd removed from Citrine's bubble originally.

Gingerly, she slid it through the surface of Connie's bubble to join the other shard within.

Jasper licked her lips and made a sour face, apparently finding the shard aftertaste unpleasant. "Kept that one from escaping," she said. Noticing the bare back of her hand, she concentrated for a beat, a star-adorned glove appearing to replace the missing one.

Connie nodded, offering a slight smile up to her battered guardian, a wordless congratulations for a small victory.

"No cracks," added Jasper, indicating her nose. "Just need to heal."

Connie accepted this, her relieved expression answer enough. Then a sense of profound confusion swept her features and she asked, "So, uh... What the heck just happened?"

"Oh! I have a theory!" exclaimed P2. Floating in front of her was a holographic display showing video footage of Jasper being smashed side-to-side like a rag doll. She paused the video she'd recorded and apparently been rewatching to jog over, her gravity connectors clomp-clomp-clomping across the canyon floor. "Pink Diamond's shard was able to interface with the room's controls and override the existing simulation into something else."

"Why?" was Connie's Jasper-like, one-word response.

P2 blinked then looked at her skeptically. "Because she's a Diamond." When Connie's face didn't light up in automatic agreement, P2 added, "Nearly all major infrastructure in Homeworld space has Diamond-tier authorization overrides."

"The temple was built by Pink Diamond," ground out Jasper, the gem sounding exhausted. "Wasn't being used. We took it."

If anything, Connie's look of confusion deepened. "Yeah, but this is a room, not a holodeck. How could it make curtains and ceilings and pink onlookers and- and _space_ happen in here?!" She hadn't meant to, but by the end she was shouting. That unexpected brush with vacuum had caused memories of her escape from the handship to resurface which was adding to her already overwhelming level of unease.

P2 shook her head. "The enclosed space-time within a structure like this is already a simulation. Though normally it doesn't change responsively like a full holographic suite would."

Which made sense now that she thought about it. After all, Lapis' room had literal waterfalls raining down from the sky and Mom's room had aromatic lava flows. It was just one of those facts of Connie's life that she'd grown up with, labeled 'gem magic', and never examined more deeply.

"In fact, that's why holographic suites exist at all,” explained P2. “Altering the morphic qualities of a stable simulation consumes massive amounts of energy. There are restrictions in place, but-"

"But a Diamond can override that too," finished Connie sounding exhausted like Jasper.

"Yes, that was what I was going to say," murmured P2, the gem looking a little piqued at having her thunder stolen.

"Okay, so the shards can make this into a holodeck-gone-wrong _Star Trek_ episode," said Connie, more to herself than anyone else. She paced in a subconscious imitation of how Mom would, the yellow bubbling floating after her. Then she paused, looking back at the other two. "What was that garden-place we just saw? And who was that pink gem?"

P2 opened her mouth to speak, a smile on her lips, when Jasper answered first with, "Pink Diamond's garden." A beat. "That was her Spinel."

Hand-equivalents going to her hips, P2 said, "Identifying the Spinel would have been easy enough, but how would you recognize the location? It was nowhere from this colony and my records indicated that you've never left the solar system."

Jasper's faint scowl deepened marginally. "Pink Diamond told me about it," and the Quartz would say no more.

"Well, we have to get all the shards back," insisted Connie, pacing once more but with the bubble hovering over her outstretched palm. "And all but two must have reformed and escaped into other parts of the room."

Jasper shook her head. Then she turned and made a beckoning gesture to the perfect hole flexing in the canyon wall. Several bubbles, all yellow, wafted down, most holding assorted keepsakes, one holding a cluster of pink shards.

Smiling but surprised, Connie said, "Wow, that's going to be a huge help!” She beamed up at her gruff guardian. “And you managed to get this to safety in that- that- _shard chaos?!"_

The large gem cracked the hint of a smile and have a faint nod. "Wasn't easy," she added, which was either profound modesty or Jasper's usual gift for understatement, Connie wasn't sure.

Then Jasper's expression soured, the gem openly frowning as she noticed how small the collection of bubbles was. Without saying anything further, the Quartz limped over then leapt up into her own flexing silhouette, landing with a grunt. Reaching down she lifted a battered cotton shirt, XXL-sized, which had the phrase 'Professional Beach Hunk' printed across it, a gift from Connie's mother to Jasper. The Quartz tried to refold it the way it had been originally and noticed a sleeve was torn. She looked at it sadly, then engulfed it in a bubble.

Jasper’s hole may have remained intact during the shard chaos, but the contents within had apparently been only partially sheltered.

Eyeing the orange bubble unhappily, the Quartz popped it, then scooped up the scattered, crushed, and battered belongings, assorted gifts from the gem she had served with unwavering devotion for millennia. She hopped down, favoring one leg as she limped over and looked pleadingly at Connie.

"I can rebubble them," she offered, intuiting Jasper's request.

A few somber minutes later, the bubbles (including the mother-daughter pair of yellow bubbles holding shards) were back in Jasper's hole for safekeeping.

Antsy and excited, P2 said, "I wonder if the other shards will be showcasing other moments from Pink Diamond's life? Quickly, let's go and find out!"

Jasper shook her head. "Not yet."

Connie elaborated, quoting from her training. "Drill Two-Thirteen: ambush by an unknown enemy. We're at the part where we need to find possible avenues for escape and retreat to find reinforcements."

P2 looked crestfallen until Jasper said, "We'll go looking after." That perked the triangle-haired technician up.

That established, the trio walked, or in Jasper's case, limped, for the exit.

* * *

They'd had to skirt several weird pockets of shard-iness which one corner of Connie's mind was already thinking of as haunted by the fractured ghost of Pink Diamond... or 'haunts' for short. However, by sticking to the sandstone, they had been able to make it to the temple door without too much trouble.

The temple door wouldn't open.

At all.

Connie had only needed to glance in P2's direction for the gem to chipperly say, "Diamond override."

Connie gritted her teeth and thought.

Pinging Wolf didn’t work. Maybe he was unable to enter pocket dimensions via howl portal. Actually, it'd be weirder if he could because then he'd be able to portal into his own pocket dimension, at which point he'd be inside the pocket inside him which meant he was inside himself inside a pocket which was also- and then Connie's mind threw a recursion overload error and terminated the thought.

She'd asked if P2 could hack the temple controls, to which the green gem had chipperly answered, "Yes."

She'd then asked if P2 could hack the temple controls while they were under Diamond override, to which the green gem had equally enthusiastically answered, "No."

Forcing the door was right out, but she and Jasper tried it anyway just to be sure.

Connie’s phone didn’t have any connectivity and Jasper was still out a phone after hers had been shorted out via a Guacola overdose over Harvest Festival dinner.

Left with no other recourse, they agreed they had to go and bubble the rest of the shards before they'd be able to get out of here.

P2, to her credit, kept her squee mostly silent.

And so they trudged over to the first haunt, standing at the edge of the border between sandstone and what looked like opulently-tiled floor. It was the floor to a room where the furniture, walls, and ceiling were scaled for giants. And standing in the center of that room stood three of them. Or rather two giants, one blue, one yellow, and one half-giant: Pink.

_The Diamonds._ Connie felt a shiver run down her spine, a thousand childhood stories of tyranny echoing across her thoughts.

"This is all your fault," growled Jasper, fidgeting with the glove she hadn't reformed, the one with a tear running through the yellow star on the back. With a frown, her hand went back to gripping the part of her arm that was bruised worst.

P2 gave a manic giggle, hopping from foot to foot. "You're welcome!"

Connie heaved a sigh. "It wasn't a compliment."

P2 looked at her confused, her excitement momentarily dimmed. "Whyever not? This is an unparalleled opportunity!"

Before Connie could elaborate further, Jasper gave a resigned grunt and stepped onto the tiled floor. "Let's get this over with," she said as the three giants began to speak.

"-and then Spinel said, 'Why, I could hit that with both arms tied behind my back!'" said Pink Diamond. Her back was to Connie and the others as she addressed the towering Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond. "Then she tied her arms in a knot behind her back, stretched her hands around to the front, and threw the morsel right into the organic's mouth! The gems working on the colony were very amused. Why, I believe I even saw one of the Topazes Yellow assigned me as guards start to grin."

Yellow Diamond made a noncommittal 'hmmm' but her eyes were smiling.

Blue Diamond, however, was not so reserved, clapping and cheering openly. "I'm so pleased you had fun visiting my colony, Pink."

"The organics didn't trouble you, did they?" ask Yellow.

"No. They w-were- a- -ck t-" the short Diamond's words suddenly coming out in starts and stops. It was like talking with Steven while the van was going through a tunnel.

Connie, P2, and Jasper all shared confused looks while Pink Diamond stuttered indecipherably.

"-f the ship without much difficulty. Plus, the iridescent ones were so wonderfully fluffy," finished Pink Diamond.

Blue Diamond gave another pleased coo at the story but Yellow Diamond turned to her blue counterpart and said, "You should increase containment sweeps on your outgoing crafts, Blue. We wouldn't want some organics sneaking aboard and infesting a waystation."

Before Blue Diamond could answer, though, all three Diamonds looked over and up, Blue and Yellow both visibly apprehensive as they did. Connie followed their gaze and she realized that what she'd mistaken for a glowing pillar was actually an ankle and leg of titanic proportions rising up. White Diamond's figure wasn't visible, like a person clipped out of the frame of a photograph, nor was her voice audible. However, all three Diamonds were clearly listening intently.

"Yes, of course," said Yellow Diamond after a moment, looking chastened. "As you say, White Diamond."

"I- -d m- -ld," stammered Pink Diamond.

There was a chime and a pair of Pearls walked gracefully in, one yellow with hair swept up to a point, the other blue, with her bangs forming an impenetrable curtain across her face, her eyes obscured. Both bowed, then the blue one said in a soft voice, "A report has arrived, my Diamond."

The yellow Pearl took a step forward and said in a nasally tone, "The Feldspar sector is forty-one percent behind quota this cycle."

Yellow Diamond's eyes went wide with surprise then narrowed with anger. "Forty-one percent? How are we only just now hearing about this?!" she demanded.

"There were reports from more than twenty cycles ago of the shortages but the supervisor hid them, meeting quota by emptying the reserve instead." The yellow Pearl's smirk deepened. "No doubt fearful of your displeasure, my Diamond."

Blue Diamond's expression darkened and in a cold, commanding voice, she said, "Have the supervisor brought to us immediately. As shards."

The Pearls each bowed and backed out of the room.

Yellow Diamond shook her head, eyes closed, fingers massaging her temples. "We must have had a bad batch from the Kindergartens because this is the third incompetent this cycle."

"But the supervisor was competent enough to hide the shortage for twenty cycles," objected Pink Diamond, facing the other Diamonds, her back to Connie, Jasper, and P2. "I think having our subjects be too afraid to approach us with bad news exacerbates problems within the empire."

Yellow Diamond scoffed. "The only thing that would get us is a running commentary of their failure. If a part underperforms, you replace it, not befriend it."

Blue Diamond crouched low so that she was closer to eye level with the Pink Diamond. "You'll understand this better when you have your own colony someday." Then the blue matriarch turned her attention to Connie and the others, saying with venom in her voice, "If you let others get too close to you, they might disappoint you."

"Or betray you," added Yellow Diamond, glowering at the trio.

“Or shatter you,” the matriarchs said in angry unison.

"Eep! M- My Diamond," stammered P2. "I'm a loyal Peridot sent on a lawful mission by you! It's only irregular circumstances that have me consorting with rebels and abominations!" She scrambled back. "I'm not with them!" she shouted before fleeing to the edge of the haunt.

"Find the shard," growled Jasper to Connie, ignoring P2's heel turn. The Quartz then pulled into a spindash, racing around the room while Blue and Yellow Diamond pounded and stomped the ground like two irate homeowners trying to crush a particularly elusive cockroach.

Connie jogged out into the room looking for clues, first of which was scoping out Pink Diamond herself. Rounding the smallest (but still quite tall) Diamond, Connie froze, shocked in surprise. Pink Diamond was, to judge by her eyebrows, glowering at the girl, but everything from eyes to chin was a mess of static and scrambled features. Sometimes there was something approximating a face (as interpreted by Picasso) frowning at the girl. Other times it was a hole into a Pink Diamond-shaped figure, like an improperly-rendered video game model.

To say Connie was unnerved would be to engage in Jasper-like levels of understatement. It was therefore with a sense of relief that Connie turned away as she noticed something small dash past in her peripheral vision, a bit of pink darting behind the 'glowing pillar' that was White Diamond's colossal high heels-clad feet.

Jasper took a glancing blow from one of the Diamonds, briefly exiting her spindash form but resuming it and speeding away before the other matriarch could land the follow-up strike. Connie, mindful of the melee that was more reminiscent of a rugby scrum, sprinted around and across.

Behind a heel the size of a small car Connie found she was being stared at by a single, baleful pink eye the size of her fist. It started to roll away with surprising speed, which was even more unnerving, prompting instinctive and decisive action in the girl, her sword flashing out. She quickly poofed and bubbled the shard despite having to hack through the extra-tough material Diamonds were apparently made of.

Seconds after the shard was contained, there was a sound of crackling static, then the room reverted into walls of banded oranges, reds, and browns. Blue and Yellow Diamond vanished first, with White Diamond (or, at least, her ankles) following soon. Last was the tall pink figure, glaring at Connie and then at Jasper, her face alternately a chaotic patchwork of features or an empty expanse.

Connie felt the lingering weight of her inhuman glare even after the figure dissolved into nothing.

A beat passed, Connie sharing a weary but pleased look with the still-battered Jasper. Then a chipper voice called out from behind, saying, "That was some very efficient regicide. Well done. The next, closest simulation override is thattaway. Follow me!"

Jasper and Connie's eyes narrowed before Connie released a long breath and hung her head. It had been a long day and it was going to be an even longer night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update was intended to be longer/cover more of the narrative but it turns out I'm pretty bad at estimating word count for these chapters, being overly optimistic about both how lengthy the scenes will be as well as how much time I'll have to write 'em all that week. And a consequence of that is that the _really cool_ pic BurdenKing and NeonJohn have drawn is for a scene the prose weren't able to reach and so had to be shelved for now. Consider it something to anticipate for next Wednesday.
> 
> Speaking of, tune in Wednesday, November 27th, for the next exciting installment of _Shattered Dreams!_ It's going to be backstory-rific!
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	3. Diamond Daze - Part 1

They stood at the edge of the garden again. P2 had tried to scan for the shard but said having what counted for localized reality overwritten was invalidating her sensor sweeps.

Connie had then tried to use her CP power to spook the shard out of hiding but she hadn't been able to detect it. Maybe her power didn't work properly on shards. Or perhaps Pink Diamond's shards were too focused on some scene from their past to spare her a thought.

"It will be glorious," said the pink matriarch. Her face remained a scrambled mess (which Connie tried her best not to look at) but this time she never seemed capable of having all four limbs at the same time, an arm or leg flickering out as another flickered in.

Connie and Jasper were combing the garden grounds for the shard while P2 recorded the simulated memory with rapt attention.

"It'll be my chance to show the others what I've been telling them for centuries." Pink Diamond paced, gesturing expressively as she spoke, the passion clear in her voice. "They can disregard me, but they won't be able to disregard results."

Spinel was following after her Diamond while standing on her head, walking with her hands and clapping her feet (the oversized shoes making a little squeak each time they met, as though the gem were wearing squeaky toys). "Maybe it's because they're so tall." She stretched her arms longer and longer until she was probably thirty feet up. Affecting an accent that was a clear imitation of Blue Diamond, she said, "I'm sorry. Did you say something? You'll have to speak up so I can hear you through this mountain of hair." Then she let her arms turn noodly, the goofy gem delivering a thirty-foot pratfall.

Pink Diamond laughed and Connie did too, unable to help herself. That Spinel, still busy reeling in her arms, turned and shot Connie a wink was a little unnerving. The characters out of these pseudo-flashbacks could break the fourth wall and interact with their 'audience', which was something Connie was having a hard time wrapping her mind around.

If the holodeck could do that, she had seriously been under-utilizing it. Or maybe it was because of the shard. All Connie could do was mentally shrug and continue combing through flower beds for a pink body part.

Pink Diamond's chuckle transformed into a sigh. "They're only humoring me. I can tell. They think I'll make some cute little colony and be satisfied. Or that I'll fail and go back to being their charming pink mascot."

Spinel did a cartwheel and said in a jazzy voice, "It's good work if you can get it!"

Another titter from Pink Diamond, the gem reaching down to pat Spinel on the head between her heart-shaped hair buns. "It suits you well. But I'm a Diamond and I need to act like one. I will make the Earth a beacon of progress. One so bright the light of it will reach all the way to Homeworld and even White Diamond will notice."

"I believe in you, best friend!" cheered Spinel. "And I believe your garden has some weeds. Better pull 'em out quick or they'll-" but her dialogue was cut short as Jasper found and poofed something that had been hiding in a hedge row.

As the haunt fizzled into static and reverted to canyon, P2 huffed in annoyance. "I am recording a chronicle of the lost Diamond. You are trampling on posterity."

Jasper fixed P2 with a stare, so long and unwavering that the green gem eventually blanched. Finally, the battered Quartz said, "Ask her for the details after you rebuild her."

P2 blinked. "Ah, right. A very good point." A beat. "Shouldn't your Quartzine physique have healed by now?"

Normally Connie would have stepped in now to change the subject but she was actually wondering about Jasper's lingering injuries. Normally she was hard to hurt and quick to recover. But now... less so.

Jasper shook her head. "'s fine. Let's keep going."

P2 was only too happy to comply but Connie watched for a moment, wondering why she'd been picking weird vibes off Jasper since before they entered the room. Honestly, since Mom and P2 had first proposed their plan to reconstruct Pink Diamond.

She had to put that thought on hold, though, so she could jog after the others and catch up.

* * *

The room was circular, with a large table in the middle. To Connie's surprise, pink was not the dominant color, merely an undertone. There were windows overlooking an unfamiliar countryside of savanna and low, rolling hills, but they were undeniably on Earth.

Pink Diamond stood at the table while a large hologram of assorted gemstones hovered over the center. The glitch this time, in addition to a nose that was only sometimes present, was that the Diamond was always seen in profile no matter where Connie moved to view her.

A green figure walked into the room, appearing from the edge of the haunt as if she'd strolled into this world from somewhere else. She was a Peridot but she was wearing a high-collared robe of shades of green, a white diamond emblem visible at her neckline. Her face looked weathered, making her the first gem Connie had ever seen who actually looked _old_, and her hair was a fluffy yellow molded into a hexagonal shape, with two curtains of blond hair hanging down to shoulder-height, framing her face. A pentagonal green gemstone, oriented point up, was visible at her forehead.

Beside her, P2 gasped, her floating fingers splaying out in shock.

"Is that someone important?" asked Connie.

"That's Peridot Facet-1C Cut-8EX," hissed P2 in an awestruck whisper. "She's venerated; she emerged so long ago she only has two alphanumeric designations for her facet. She's the Kindergartner who injected Yellow and Pink Diamond."

"She advised Pink Diamond for part of the war," elaborated Jasper. Then the Quartz paused and asked P2, "Not Blue?"

"No, another Era-1 Peridot had that honor, but the fact that 1C-8EX was chosen to inject Pink is seen as proof that her work was superior." A beat. "Though it's plain that Yellow Diamond is the greater of the pair," added P2 with pleased certainty.

The mention of 'Era-1' was what caused Connie's confusion to clarify. The Peridot with the hexagonal hair was tall without wearing gravity connectors. Her arms didn't end in limb enhancers, though the voluminous sleeves were kind of reminiscent of ones.

_No,_ she realized. _Limb enhancers are reminiscent of her sleeves._ Another part of her mind, the part that found gem designations tedious, announced, _I hereby dub thee... Hexadot._

"You sent for me, Pink Diamond," said Hexadot courteously.

Without looking away from her hologram --Connie assumed; it was hard to be sure since the pink gem was always in profile-- Pink Diamond said, "I have something new in mind and I need your expertise."

"Because I'm the best?" asked Hexadot unhurriedly, a note of pride audible in her voice.

Pink Diamond smiled. "Yes, but more than that, I need someone who doesn't flinch at the phrase 'something new.'"

With a shared look, Connie and Jasper started to walk into the chamber to hunt for the shard, Connie's sword already in hand. Then a swarm of short, green metal rods flew from the recesses of Hexadot's robes, the points telescoping out to end in very sharp looking tips. These were trained on Quartz and hybrid with an air of quiet menace like a gun pointed at someone while the safety was still engaged.

"Wait your turn," commanded Hexadot, glancing at them in her peripheral vision. Then she turned back to the holographic display. Another couple of floating green rods emerged from her sleeves to manipulate the display, bringing it closer and zooming in on two gemstones: one pink and one yellow.

By unspoken agreement, Connie and Jasper stepped back, willing to wait for a better, less ‘stabbed by floating knives’ opening.

"Interesting," said Hexadot. "Expensive," she added as data streamed past. Then she let the holographic display float back to the center of the table as she shook her head. "Impossible," she declared.

P2, meanwhile, was making various noises of what Connie could only call poorly-suppressed _fangirling_ every time Hexadot said or did anything.

Pink Diamond's sole visible eye narrowed. "Impossible is a very final term to use. Could you elaborate?"

"As you wish, Pink Diamond," answered the venerated Kindergartner. "These gems would effectively be miniature Diamonds: physically powerful, magically mighty, and highly intelligent. Even if you scale those qualities down --say, make them one-tenth as powerful, magical, and intelligent-- you would still have a gem with all three attributes maximized at that scale.” She shook her head. “You must reduce one. Otherwise you are either asking for a Diamond or the impossible." The gem's hands disappeared into the recesses of her robes and she offered Pink Diamond a shallow bow.

Pink Diamond hummed in thought, expression going a little distant, not so much staring at the hologram as through it. Then she paced to one side of the table --seen always in profile, it looked more like she was moonwalking and Connie had to stifle a reflexive chuckle at the idea-- and brought the pink and yellow gemstones closer with a gesture. Another gesture and the lines on the diagram separating the gemstones vanished, the two reorienting until they were tip-to-tip, making a pink-yellow hourglass.

The half of Pink Diamond's face that was visible smiled as she wafted the hologram in front of Hexadot.

The green gem studied the display closely, even hovering up somehow to give her a better vantage. Could she float like a Sapphire or Hiddenite? After another minute studying the hourglass arrangement she hovered back to the floor. "Each one has the proportionate intelligence and magic of a Diamond but slightly reduced physical resilience and strength. At or near Jasper level. Workable though resource-intensive. But why have them scaled to fifty percent Diamond-tier? And why two of them?"

The diagram floated back over to Pink Diamond. "As you say, no one gem can match a Diamond. But two gems, each half a Diamond in qualities, made to perfectly compliment one another-" and the gems left their hourglass formation, sliding facet-to-facet to make an angular yin-yang instead. "-together would be as close to a peer as a Diamond could have among her subjects."

A long silence stretched out. Then Hexadot grinned, a fierce light of pride shining in her eyes. "Very clever. I knew I made you well." Already a floating swarm of green rods were moving the diagram back to her, adjustments and annotations being added as she brought her expertise to bear. Sparing a moment to look up from the designs she was refining, Hexadot asked, "Though what use does a Diamond have for a peer among those she rules?"

In the corner of her eye, Connie saw Jasper give her a discreet wave of her hand. Glancing over, she followed where the Quartz indicated with a subtle nod of her head. It took her a second but Connie finally saw what the orange gem meant: there, hiding amidst the rib-like arches supporting the ceiling, was a bit of pink. Connie couldn't make out what body part it was, but it was unmistakably this haunt's shard.

Pink Diamond's expression was a match for Hexadot's: pride and sharp ambition writ in pink, a gem with everything to prove and the intent to do exactly that. "An empire this vast cannot be ruled well by only four beings, no matter how splendid we may be. Instead, parts of it are micromanaged while others are paralyzed for want of oversight. So if there will always be too few Diamonds, I will devise an alternative: a strata of managers and advisers able to be where the Diamonds cannot, able to engage with my sisters and me without awe or condescension."

"This could very well be the working that elevates the empire to new heights," praised Hexadot though only briefly looking up from her work.

As quick as she could, Connie whipped her sword arm around. She'd been mentally rehearsing her throw since she spotted the shard, and she felt every part of her arm, wrist, and hand move with perfect coordination, the sword becoming a crackling missile that flew true, pinning the shard to the wall for a brief second.

There was a puff of pink smoke as the sword dissolved into motes of light, a shard dropping to land with a muted 'tinka-tink' on the floor below.

"Or the act of hubris that brings it to a new low," lamented Pink Diamond, her one visible eye trained on Connie as she, Hexadot, and the room dissolved into static.

* * *

One haunt was a tangled mess as four different places were blended seemingly at random, swaths of incongruous vistas striped together like a mad collage: a hodgepodge mix of lunar landscape, the inside of some bleak tower with a single, high window overlooking a view of Homeworld, the pink interior of a spaceship, and the surface of a planet with yellow-tinged air.

That last one featured some strange, fluffy, iridescent animals that were clearly aliens, seen milling about in the wilds of what appeared to be a colony under construction of gems from Blue Diamond's court. Unfortunately the air wasn't breathable which, in conjunction with the fractured sections of lunar vacuum, meant Connie had to alternate between looking for the shard while insubstantial and spending time on the sideline with P2.

She took plenty of pictures of the weird alien animals so she could later share them with Steven. Hmm, maybe NASA too. They'd be interested in something like that, right?

It was while standing beside P2, Jasper visible in the distance searching through alien foliage, that Connie asked the technician, "For someone so excited to work on these shards, you aren't doing much to help recapture them."

Probably not the most diplomatic thing to say but Connie it was pre-dawn outside and, for her, patience was in short supply until after breakfast.

P2 seemed unperturbed, though. "I am helping," she answered without looking away from the fragmentary landscape.

Connie waited for her to say more and, when she didn't, the girl looked at her, puzzled and a little annoyed. "How?"

"By not helping."

A second stretched into two and then Connie said, "Would you mind elaborating on that one for me?"

"Certainly," answered P2, finally sparing Connie a glance. "The goal is to enlist Pink Diamond's help after I've reassembled her. A reconstructed gem doesn't always recall an event which happened to an individual shard, but the odds of recalling it increases along with percentage of component shards that were also involved in the event. And as we are having to hunt down and poof nearly two-thirds of the Pink Diamond shards still on Earth, the odds of her remembering that fact are quite high."

Connie's eyes widened as she followed that thought to its logical conclusion. "So she's going to wake up with her most recent memories being me and Jasper attacking her?!"

The green gem rocked on her gravity connectors. "Very probably, while I not only was the brilliant technician who returned her to an intact state but was also never among her assailants. That should help make her happier to listen to what I have to say."

"About stopping the Cluster from destroying the Earth... right?" prompted Connie, a sudden suspicion rising in her.

P2's attention had drifted back to the fractured landscape when she said casually, "Certainly."

Connie frowned but, after a couple of seconds, allowed another question bubble up to the top of her awareness. "Why is this haunt so confused?"

The gem looked at her. "Haunt?"

"Oh!" Connie hadn't realized she'd said that. "The, uh, the scene the shard is reliving through the room."

"Ah. Actually, experiments have been done where shards were allowed access to holosuites so as to better allow study and communication. Disjointed 'haunts' such as this are the norm rather than the exception. The subjective experience of a shard is confusing; fragmentary in more ways than one. Which is why they are usually terrible communicators." P2 hummed to herself before saying, "I wasn't present for those trials, but I have read the reports."

Connie blinked. "So have we just been lucky so far? I mean, it's felt like several of the past haunts were trying to tell us something specific."

"I don't think luck has anything to do with it," answered P2. "We are dealing with the shards of a Diamond," and her voice acquired that reverent quality it got whenever the Diamonds came up as a subject. "These are exceptional shards from an exceptional being so exceptional results are to be expected."

In a quieter voice, Connie asked, "What do you think her shards are trying to tell us?"

She'd mostly been thinking of the shards as just another objective, like a side quest in a game before you were allowed to advance the plot. That they were aware and speaking through the indirect channel available to them reminded Connie entirely too much of Pearl's own allegorical tale within the book for comfort.

"Her story," answered P2 breezily. In the corner of her visor, Connie could see a tiny icon indicating she was recording the scenes in front of her.

"Why?"

The fragmented landscape fizzled with a roar of static, Jasper having found, poofed, and bubbled a shard somewhere ‘on' the Moon.

P2 shrugged and smiled. "I'm not sure, but I look forward to asking her when I'm able."

Jasper strode forward then past the pair, still bruised but still resigned to seeing this through, the bubble floating in her wake. Connie and P2 turned and followed after her, heading for the next haunt.

Quietly, Connie resolved to let these fragments of Pink Diamond at least try to have their say before she and Jasper went shard hunting. Pink Diamond might have even more reason to be annoyed with them later if Connie didn’t.

* * *

Gems were working hard expanding and deepening a colossal hole on the edge of a bog, Rubies working by the scores like ants at the entrance to their hive. If that wasn’t a clue enough for Connie to recognize the borehole that Jasper, Mom, and she had once visited in their mission to retrieve the Geode Beetle of Earth, the swampy, sulfuric smell carried on the air was an unmistakable reminder.

But Connie had stopped caring about the smell, or much of anything else, really, because emerging from the borehole entrance was Rose Quartz and beside her… was Connie’s mother. She was wearing a Pink Diamond uniform and in her hands was a familiar plant fossil, a fern that, here in the present, was resting on a shelf in her mother’s room of the temple.

Connie had just enough presence of mind to glance and confirm that Jasper was gawking too.

“My Diamond,” said Citrine, lowering her head respectfully as Pink Diamond walked into view.

“My Diamond,” said Rose Quartz, the gem only a few paces behind her mother and looking subtly unfamiliar. It took Connie a few seconds to realize it was because she looked happy. Relaxed. At peace. A stark contrast to the Rose Quartz she’d had the misfortune of clashing with several times before.

In the background a line of Ruby workers looked over to gawk at the visiting Diamond, the lead one stopping and being bonked into by the one behind it, who was bonked into by the one behind them, and so one down the line, several falling over and dropping the materials they were carrying. No fewer than three fist fights erupted as a consequence, drawing the attention of yet other Rubies, which only worsened the disruption.

“What is that you have there?” asked Pink Diamond in a pleased tone. Starting at about the gem’s knee you could see a faint blur, as if it wasn’t one Pink Diamond but rather four imperfectly overlaid atop one another. The effect worsened the farther you got from her feet, with her waist being hazy but recognizable, her shoulders being a flickering pink cloud, and trying to discern anything of the gem’s face left Connie’s eyes watering.

It was so bad, in fact, that Connie had to make a point of looking away from the matriarch, focusing instead on the two familiar-yet-unfamiliar Quartzes, eventually having to raise a palm up to shield her from the hazy pink eyesore in her peripheral vision.

Citrine smiled, holding the fossil out for Pink Diamond to see. “It is an organic, trapped in rock, so ancient it has been mineralized. I saw it in the borehole wall while Rose was showing me more of your wondrous colony, my Diamond.”

Connie could hear the smile in Pink Diamond’s voice even as she couldn’t see it. “Yes, that’s called a fossil. Some have been unearthed in practically every location of this world, even atop mountains and under the ocean. The Earth we see now was very different in eons past, and organic life flourished across it even then.”

Citrine looked pensive for a moment, drawing the fossil closer to her chest, seemingly unwilling to speak. Then Rose stepped closer and nudged the yellow Quartz. The two exchanged a look, Citrine’s questioning, Rose’s, knowing, then Citrine asked, “But doesn’t that make us the interlopers, my Diamond? Organic life has existed on Earth for millions of years. But as we begin to terraform the planet…” and she trailed off, unable to finish her thought.

Pink Diamond stepped closer, a blurred hand resting on the comparatively shorter Citrine’s shoulder. “As this colony takes shape, the Earth will become a shining part of something far, far vaster and older still. You and your sister are from this world too, my clever Citrine, the embodiment of this planet’s new destiny. These fossils tell the tale of how the planet changed and changed again, from a surface ruled by plants, to one ruled by insects, then organics that would tower over most gems, and now the world we see today. Gemkind is just the latest in a chain of revolutionary changes to this marvelous planet.”

At the word ‘revolutionary’, Rose was looking suddenly thoughtful. Citrine, meanwhile, appeared decidedly conflicted, muttering softly, “The latest and the last.”

Before Pink Diamond could respond, however, there was a chime and the matriarch released a small, eight-sided device which hovered up into the air. A viewscreen appeared in the air and the pink gem Connie had twice seen in Pink Diamond’s garden, Spinel, appeared.

“Hey best friend!” she called cheerfully, her voice having a razzy quality to it like it was the audible-equivalent of jazz hands. She was standing in an expanse of pale, white sand, other gems visible but indistinguishable in the distance. “I got White Diamond’s latest aristocrat settled in.”

“Oh? So her new accommodations are to her liking? Finally?” asked the pink ruler with a hint of snark edging in.

Behind her, Citrine and Rose were whispering, the fossilized fern gestured to now and again. Behind _them_, the Ruby scrum had turned into a full brawl with scores of participants. Several Quartzes, mostly Amethysts and Carnelians, were trying to restore order and having very little success.

Spinel shook her head, face twisting uncannily far as she did it as if she’d rubberized her neck just so she could exaggerate her negation. “Nope! Didn’t like this one either. But when I joked that I could bring her a bucket and shovel so she could make her own sand castle to live in, her Pearl said she would build a spire ‘fit for her master to dwell within,’ and started doing something cool with the sand. Ya gotta see it, ma bestest bestie!”

“I’ll be sure to visit as soon as I’m able,” said Pink Diamond with a smile. “Thank you for seeing that problem dealt with. The experts loaned to me from the other courts have been very helpful, but they can be so prickly. And they bring with them those same staid expectations I’m trying to overturn.”

“Ah, they just need their egos deflated a little,” and Spinel’s head expanded like a balloon and then collapsed into a wrinkly version of itself. The gem smiled broadly as Pink Diamond chuckled but before she could say more the viewscreen pulsed, first yellow, then blue.

“I have to go,” said Pink Diamond hastily. “There’s another check-in from Blue and Yellow. Onyx reported the white and blue court Hessonites were clashing again. See if you can get them to stop squabbling long enough to finish the asteroid deflection system.”

Spinel’s left arm wrapped three times around her head before giving a sloppy salute. “Will do, b-” and the display folded back up before unfolding again to reveal Yellow Diamond staring into the screen.

“It’s time for another progress up-” was as far as Yellow Diamond got before the view panned over and Blue Diamond appeared.

“Hello, Pink,” said the blue matriarch, smiling widely, her face filling the screen as she got up close to whatever they were using as a camera. “We’ve all been wondering how your adorable little colony is going. Will we be able to visit it soon? Have the gems we sent you been listening?” Her expression sobered into something almost menacing as she asked, “They haven’t been disrespectful of you, have they?”

The camera panned back to Yellow Diamond. “Yes, order must be maintained. In fact, I’ll have a freighter of Agates deployed to your colony right away.” Speaking past the camera, Yellow Diamond said, “Pearl? Have a list of my Agates compiled, ranked in terms of dissidents caught. The top fifty should-”

_“That_ won’t be necessary,” said Pink Diamond hastily. “I have things here well in-hand.”

Yellow Diamond looked at her skeptically then said to someone off camera, “Belay that.” A beat. “But assemble the list anyway, in case they’re needed on Earth later.”

A nasally voice from off-screen answered, “Yes, my Diamond.”

The camera was pulled back to Blue Diamond, her face once again filling the screen, and she said, “And who are your little friends, Pink?”

Pink Diamond paused --maybe to smile, but that was impossible for Connie to see-- and then gestured for Citrine and Rose to step forward. They did, backs straight, shoulders squared, though Connie noticed that her mother had her hands behind her back, hiding the fossil.

“This is Rose Quartz and Citrine,” said Pink Diamond, pride audible in her voice. “The first complete pair to emerge of the new gem lines I told you about.”

Rose and Citrine bowed before the Diamonds on the screen.

“Citrine, show them what you showed me the other cycle,” prompted Pink Diamond.

Discreetly passing the planet fossil to Rose behind their backs, Mother willed a force field into being a few feet in front of her while reaching up and withdrawing her sword from her gemstone. With two broad strokes, she carved an ‘X’ into the field. Then, with a lunge and a sound like cracking glass, she skewered the field with the point of her blade right where the lines joined. The field wavered but remained as Mother withdrew her sword, the force field brought to the cusp of destabilization.

Rose, presumably having tucked the fossil into a back pocket, clapped her hands and smiled radiantly at her sister’s display.

Yellow Diamond nodded approvingly. “I like that one. She seems fierce.”

“You just approve of her color,” teased Blue Diamond. Then, turning to Rose, she asked in a voice like an adult humoring a child that had just tugged on the hem of their shirt, “And what can you do, little one?”

Rose gave a small bound over to the force field, traveling higher and falling slower than expected, as though gravity was only a suggestion for her. Then she caught a single tear beading at one eye and brought it forward. Once touched, the force field which sparkled and was fully repaired.

She walked backwards to her place beside Citrine, the two bowing once more.

“We’re still discovering all of their abilities,” said Pink Diamond, audibly pleased. “But more than that, I have them touring the colony so that in time they can-”

Something off screen caught Yellow Diamond’s attention, the matriarch brusquely interrupting Pink when she returned to the conversation, saying, “Yes, yes, very nice. However, some of us have to manage more than just a single colony.”

The camera panned over to Blue Diamond, who smiled like a doting aunt at Pink Diamond. “You have fun, Pink. And let us know the instant you need any help. Your Quartzes were very cute.”

From off-camera Yellow Diamond said warningly, “This concerns your colonies too, you know.”

Blue Diamond huffed, flashed Pink Diamond a final smile, then the image vanished, the display collapsing back into the eight-sided shape Connie had seen earlier.

Pink Diamond gave a sigh, though Connie had no idea what expression accompanied it. Then a tall Amethyst jogged over, bowing in front of Pink Diamond.

“My Diamond,” she said. “The Rubies found this near the borehole entrance.” She opened her palm to reveal a pink ear, large but still able to fit in the tall Quartz’ hand.

Another sigh, this one clear in its weariness, and the unviewable Pink Diamond said, “Give it to them. The sooner they are gone, the sooner I can know a moment’s peace.”

Seemingly unsure of how to respond, the Amethyst bowed and, looking a little abashed, jogged over to Connie and Jasper, the shard held out for the perfect Quartz to take, poof, and bubble.

The scene dissolved into static and sandstone, Connie’s eyes fixed on her mother as it did, her gaze then lingering where the yellow gem had been standing after she was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hexadot's model was drawn by BurdenKing. I love how he made her embody those Era-1 characteristics that the Era-2 Peridots would be made to imitate. Plus, Granny-dot will have none of you whippersnappers interrupting while the adults are speaking.
> 
> Also, that plant fossil (which does appear in Citrine's Room back in Ep16) is rather storied. We first heard from Doug back in [Ep19Ch3](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13894644/chapters/32158455) how, "Citrine told [him] once that that plant fossil was what started the Rebellion." Here we get to see that actually play out.
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	4. Diamond Daze - Part 2

The scene they walked up on was of a visibly disappointed Rose Quartz leaving a familiar, circular room. It was the same one from which Connie, Jasper, and P2 had witnessed Pink Diamond discussing Quartz designs with Hexadot.

Citrine was only a step behind her sister, her mouth a thin line. She looked at Connie for a long moment --the girl’s breath catching in her throat-- before she glanced at something then disappeared through the doorway.

The door closed behind her while Pink Diamond studied a holographic design of what looked like a space station. The Diamond’s movements completely disjointed: it was like watching several time lapse videos of the same subject all at once, with each at different speeds, her body divided unevenly between them. Every couple of seconds her form would ‘snap’ back into place, every part of her synchronizing once more only to immediately become disjointed again.

It was visual chaos but at least this one didn’t make Connie’s eyes water just to watch.

Another couple minutes passed with Pink Diamond making small adjustments to the design before the whole scene did a ‘snap’ like Pink Diamond herself. Then they saw Mother and Rose Quartz standing beside the table as Pink Diamond entered the room.

Citrine gave Rose Quartz a curt nod of approval that was almost Jasper-like. This seemed to hearten Rose Quartz, who turned and smiled up at her Diamond. It was the smile of a public speaker about to address their audience, or salesperson approaching a customer, and it contrasted with the more natural one Connie had seen from the gem when she’d first greeted Pink Diamond outside the borehole.

“My Diamond,” said Rose, she and Citrine offering modest bows.

The visual tangle that was Pink Diamond said, “There’s no need for formalities,” and her voice was warm. “Not in private. Especially not from you two.” Pink Diamond stutter-walked over to a low-backed throne and sat down, inviting the Quartzes to take appropriately scaled seats positioned to either side of the table.

Rose approached one and was seated but Citrine, seemingly unwilling to leave Rose’s side, remained standing beside and a little behind her sister.

Pink Diamond ‘snapped’ into focus and was smiling affectionately at them. “Is there something you wish to discuss?”

“Pink Diamond,” said Rose in her sonorous voice. “We have traveled far and wide across this world, spoken with many people, gem and human alike. And we have a matter we wish to raise to your awareness.”

“It’s important,” added Mother, approaching a step closer to the throne. “Please…” She hesitated. “Consider it carefully,” she finished, retreating back to beside and behind Rose.

“Of course,” assured Pink Diamond, leaning forward, albeit asynchronously across five or more speeds.

Rose took a breath before speaking. “The Earth will make a grand home for gemkind. However, it is already home to billions of marvelous organic beings, some of which are intelligent to the point of being self-aware. Based on what we’ve heard from the gems of other courts, gemkind has never encountered a world teeming with such a panoply of organic life as Earth. Nor have we encountered a species like humanity that could truly be our peers. In this way, the Earth is even more of an unparalleled rarity than it would seem at first.”

Pink Diamond’s features weren’t readable at that moment but in a patient voice she said, “Go on.”

Connie was at a vantage point to see her Mother reach out and pat Rose’s back, another little comforting gesture that seemed to give Rose Quartz courage.

“Terraforming the planet would ultimately sterilize it, irrevocably destroying something splendid even as something else, something impressive in its own right, took its place.” Another breath, then Rose said, “Citrine and I would like for you to consider a compromise that would see the Earth be a home to all forms of life rather than of one to the exclusion of another.”

“Oh? And how would that be accomplished?” asked Pink Diamond, the warmth in her voice cooling slightly.

Rose laid a data pad on the table, prompting a holographic image of an Earth like something out of a science fiction novel cover. At each pole, giant structures rose nearly into space. Others were visible atop several of the highest peaks or in the depths of the largest deserts. There were locations deep beneath the seas that were flagged as well, though Connie couldn’t make out the labels written in gem glyphs explaining what they meant.

She also noticed one continent looking strangely shaped. Connie wondered if that was somehow part of Rose’s plan before it clicked that, instead, she was seeing the Earth before it had been partially redrawn by Lapis during her ‘Lemuria’ incident.

Rose gestured to the display, excitement clear in her voice as she spoke. “This shows a world where the majority of the planet is kept as a preserve of sorts, where the organic life would be untouched by gemkind’s presence. Instead, we would focus our colonization on those regions with the least amount and diversity of organic life. Between that and an emphasis on space habitation, we would be able to thrive on this planet without being detrimental to the beings who have laid claim to it for millions of years before our arrival.”

She and Citrine smiled at Pink Diamond. Rose Quartz looked pleased. Mother looked pleading.

The silence stretched out for a long, long time, Connie feeling awkward on her mother’s behalf. Even though she was witnessing an event thousands of years past, even though everyone within the tableau was really just a simulation from a shard, Connie felt second hand social awkwardness for the yellow gem opposite her.

In a jittery way, Pink Diamond shook her head. “No. This would push back the colony’s timeline by millennia.”

Mother took another half-step forward. “If we focused development on the Moon as well as the other inner planets, along with harvesting the asteroid belt, then we would only be a single millennium behind the resource production quotas the other Diamonds have set. If we got additional fleet support, we could reduce that to only several centuries instead.”

“For raw materials, yes. But that’s what my sisters are least interested in,” countered Pink Diamond. “It’s the gem production of Earth that they are most eager for and that’s precisely what would be hit hardest by this alternative of yours. Even if I maintained operation of the existing Kindergarten, which your model recommends I disable, we’d produce fewer gems than a colony a tenth the size.”

“True,” said Rose in a conciliatory manner, “but that overlooks what we’d be gaining. Centuries? Millennia? Gemkind weathers the passage of time gracefully. We can afford to be patient, especially if it gains us the companionship of another intelligent species. It would literally mean the world to every organic being on Earth.”

Another headshake from Pink Diamond, this one accompanied with a mirthless chuckle. “You should be absolutely right but you couldn’t be more wrong. The problem is that all you know is the Earth. You consider it absent the organic life that so decorates it right now and you see that as a terrible loss. But we are part of a vast empire. And what that empire needs most isn’t raw materials or even additional gems. No, meeting my sisters’ quotas is only to buy this colony time to provide what is most desperately needed: a better way to do things. If the Earth can become the model by which the empire is reformed, it will improve the lives of countless gems across countless worlds, including all that will emerge in the millennia to come. Hundreds of thousands of gems across hundreds of thousands of years: that is a gain greater than the organic life we lose acquiring it.”

Rose, stricken, looked to Citrine, a wordless plea for help on her face.

At that Connie’s mother advanced in what looked like an aggressive stance, as if expecting combat, and challenged, “There can be no compromise? You created us to see and think and advise. Rose has done exactly that; her vision is beautiful and you shouldn’t simply reject it.”

At that Rose reached out and placed a hand on Citrine’s arm, as if warning her sister from being overly confrontational. When Citrine looked back, Rose shot her a grateful smile, at which Citrine relaxed a little. 

Offering a conciliatory bow to her Diamond, Citrine stepped back. “I apologize if I gave offense, my Diamond.”

Even when Pink Diamond’s features ‘snapped’ into focus, her expression was hard to read. Several more seconds passed and then she said, “No, you are right. You are doing precisely as I intended for you to do, precisely what I hope to do for my sisters: show the alternatives we so easily overlook. But compromise extends in both directions. You don’t know my sisters, of just how swiftly they would take away everything I have, of shattering my dreams while thinking they were doing me a kindness. So I am ordering you to give up on this vision and instead accept another. Maintaining so light a presence on Earth would put us terminally behind schedule, but I can divert some resources into space and still manage to fend off my sisters. A habitat will be constructed in a nearby system to house specimens from Earth. Specifically humans. As you point out, while organic life exists in many forms across the known universe, humanity is truly unique among what we’ve discovered thus far. They will live with every comfort we can provide and so survive even as their planet of origin is put to a greater purpose.”

Citrine, her expression sour, looked like she was on the verge of saying something more when Rose stood and quelled her sister with a look and a touch. Turning back to their Diamond, Rose Quartz bowed and said, “Thank you for hearing us out, my Diamond.”

The holographic display of an Earth capable of harmoniously supporting organic and gem-based life vanished, a wireframe model of a space station taking its place. Pink Diamond was unrecognizable at the time, but Connie could hear the almost maternal pride in her voice. “You’re welcome. Know that I am proud of you both.”

It was a warm dismissal but a dismissal nonetheless. A visibly disappointed Rose Quartz left the circular room. Citrine was only a step behind her, her mouth a thin line.

Recognizing this from when they’d approached, Connie was ready for when her mother held Connie’s eyes for a long moment before glancing to the side. Following her gaze, Connie saw the tip of what looked like a pink foot partially hidden behind the table. Then Citrine turned and vanished through the doorway, the door closing behind her as Pink Diamond studied the station design.

Was the simulated figure of Connie’s mother trying to help her find the shard? If so, what did that mean? Did these characters somehow possess their own will, or was Pink Diamond’s shard depicting her as treacherous since she would later rebel against her? Or even stranger still, was the shard using the figment of Citrine as a way of helping Connie against itself?

Branching hypotheticals, too numerous for Connie to quickly contemplate, flashed through her mind before she had to shake her head and dispel them. Whatever it all meant, her duty was clear. Summoning her sword, she stalked forward, trying to step lightly and stay out of sight… assuming a pink foot could see or hear.

She poofed the shard quickly.

It might of been her imagination that Pink Diamond ‘snapped’ into focus and gave Connie a weary look just before the shard was bubbled.

It might have been… or it might not.

* * *

They had just come from a haunt that was mostly incoherent. Instead of being a jumble of four or more scenes, though, it was all from the same scene but so scrambled as to be indecipherable. There was one exception, a few seconds of clarity, where the scrambled imagery came together to show Mother, sword out and pointed at Pink Diamond while she looked like she was shielding Rose Quartz with her body. They were surrounded on all sides by gems with aghast expressions. They looked to be standing in the Lunar Sea Spire while it had been under construction.

Pink Diamond, face shrouded in the darkness from the nose up, was shocked (if her open mouth of surprise was any indication). Then her teeth clenched, hands balling into fists, and she said in a hard voice, “Seize them.”

Citrine threw her sword towards the crowd, gems diving out of the way so that the electrified blade struck a partially-built wall, collapsing it. With Rose literally covering their retreat with her shield, the two darted through the new opening just before the scene returned to indecipherability.

That shard found, poofed, and bubbled, they were now trekking across the canyon of Jasper’s room. Connie was having a meal on the go while they did, grateful that she always included ample drink and non-perishable food in her mission pack.

P2 watched the girl eat for a little while before turning to Jasper. “Have you ever tried a cinnamon roll?” she asked.

“No,” was Jasper’s terse response, the Quartz walking heavily, slow enough Connie no longer needed to hustle to compensate for her shorter stride.

“Why not? They’re delicious!” She paused, then glanced at Connie, who was midway through scarfing down a Protes bar. “You’ve eaten cinnamon rolls before, right?”

Connie, mouth full and unable to vocalize a response, nodded while she ate quickly. Protein bars made for an uninspiring breakfast (because it was getting close to dawn outside), but she was too hungry to complain.

“And have the other despicable rebels consumed them as well?”

Jasper just trudged onward but Connie managed another nod. Mom wasn’t especially taken with the sweet treat, but she could recall several times when Lapis had demolished them by the pan.

Turning back to the Quartz, P2 asked, “So why haven’t you eaten any? If you are going to be an outcast to your race, caste, and court, indulging in roller coasters and cinnamon rolls should be your consolation prize.”

Now Connie was hurrying through her food in the hopes of being able to interject before Jasper snapped and punted P2 through a cliff face. Normally she wouldn’t worry about the warrior being provoked like that, but she’d been getting really weird vibes off Jasper ever since they’d entered her room and she didn’t want to chance it.

Just as Connie was chugging some water to wash the last of her protein bar down, Jasper answered with, “I don’t eat.”

This earned a blink from P2 before a look of understanding dawned. “Ah. You have a subtle defect that renders you unable to experience flavor.” She nodded. “Yes, based on texture alone, cinnamon rolls have much less to-”

“I DON’T HAVE A DEFECT!” barked Jasper, expression thunderous. They walked a few yards in silence before the Quartz added, “I’m perfect. Period.”

Proving that she either had no survival instinct worth the name, was socially clueless, or both, P2 asked, “So why don’t you experience food?”

“P2,” started Connie. “Being on Earth means we’re free to explore or not explore whatever we want.” A beat and then Connie hastily added, “Provided it doesn’t hurt anyone else. So it’s okay that Jasper chooses not to eat.”

The technician considered this, expression thoughtful, and Connie hoped the gem was done poking what was proving to be a sore point for Jasper. Those hopes were dashed when P2 said, “Very well, but I still fail to understand why-”

Jasper rounded on the green gem and ground out in a threatening tone, “Gems don’t need to eat. It serves no purpose. I do not engage in purposelessness. I am perfect and ever-vigilant and waste no time on distractions like that.”

That… raised some flags. It sounded like something the Jasper from a year ago would have said rather than the Jasper who was an avid reader and _Lutes and Loot_ player. This was, after all, the same gem who had checked out the last two _The Lord of the Rings_ movies from the library and was going to have a viewing party with Steven as soon as he had an evening free.

But rather than ask further, Connie kept her thoughts to herself, then elbowed P2 in the ribs when the gem started to pry further.

For once she was relieved when they spotted the next haunt. Then she saw all the figures present and blanched. A glance showed Jasper with her jaw set and her fists clenched. This… This could be bad.

It was the same circular room from haunts past. Pink Diamond stood in the middle, studying a map, her form randomly trembling like an old VHS tape that was having trouble with the vertical tracking.

Hexadot stood to one side, view alternating between a holographic display and the gems gathered around the table, all while radiating an aura of patient confidence.

A black gem with grey-and-white hair was pointing something out on the table, standing next to Pink Diamond and nearly as tall as the matriarch. However, her height was enhanced by what appeared to be a tiny lavender Pearl who was sitting on her shoulders, arms wrapped around her head like a koala hugging a tree. She was peeking out from under the black gem’s hat, which was comically large on the small, purple passenger. Two other Pearls were in the room: one, peach-colored and larger than any other Pearl Connie had seen, was standing attentively in the back while another, grey skin and coal-black hair, her right arm ending before the elbow, was sitting on the edge of the table and winking flirtatiously at…

Jasper, for there could be no other Jasper with that perfectly indomitable build. She stood, fists clenched, her long hair spilling over a striking cape.

“Who is that black gem?” asked Connie quickly to preempt P2 from saying, well, much of anything, really. The gem was a walking, smiling gaffe-factory, after all.

P2 opened her mouth to speak but was beaten to it by Jasper, the Quartz saying through clenched teeth. “Onyx: Pink Diamond’s head general. Commanded the Ziggurat through the war.” A beat. “And after.”

A gasp of understanding escaped the girl as she suddenly thought of the authoritative voice she’d heard at the start of the corruption audio her mom and the others had salvaged from a mission to the Ziggurat.

“Why does she have a tiny Pearl riding on her shoulders?” hastily continued Connie, trying to stay ahead of the inevitable.

“She took in Pearls. All Pearls: new ones, ownerless ones, defective ones,” rumbled Jasper. “Was never without a few of them. She was loyal to them. They were-” Connie heard Jasper’s teeth grind before she managed to finish saying, “They were loyal to her.”

“The rebels have made a rapid series of raids against our terraforming infrastructure along this mountain range here,” explained Onyx, her voice every bit as commanding as Connie remembered it from the recording.

The lavender Pearl on her shoulders whispered something, prompting Onyx to reach up and caress her cheek. “Thank you, my darling. I’ve just been reminded that they were also spotted in a feint against this barracks here.”

“The Sapphires-” started Pink Diamond but she fell silent when Onyx shook her head.

“Their predictions continue to prove unreliable,” answered the Pearl-adorned gem.

“I speculate that that is a consequence of the rebel Sapphire fusion,” opined Hexadot. “Our seers have never had to operate in opposition to one of their own, but it would seem that the fusion can anticipate and confound the grand clarities.” A dexterous green finger tapped her chin. “Though given the unstudied Quartz prototypes leading the Rebellion, it’s not impossible that one of them has a yet-unknown power that thwarts precognition.”

“Thank you for your intel, Onyx, and your insight, Peridot,” acknowledged Pink Diamond, her eyes never rising from the table… or so Connie assumed given the visual distortion wandering up and down her form. The gem tapped the table where one of the raids had occurred. “How were the rebels able to marshal their forces without our notice?”

Hexadot’s gaze lowered to the map, data streaming across the inside of her visor. In a soft voice but one that was no less assured than Onyx’, she said, “The seismic equipment in the region detected intermittent disturbances. The rebels have a Biggs Jasper among their numbers so I suspect a tunnel network was made to mask their approach.”

The grey-skinned Pearl crossed one leg over the other as she pivoted to look at Onyx. In a coquettish voice, she said, “The Pearl of Emerald’s head Agate mentioned that the rebels entered through a surprise tunnel when they raided their armory.”

Pink Diamond looked up. “All gems Agate-tier and above have been ordered to report any novel tactics the rebels use. Why am I only hearing about this now?”

The flirtatious Pearl smirked and said salaciously, “Because of what the head Agate and her Pearl were doing when the rebels stormed in. They were in a supply closet at the time and-”

Onyx gave a warning hum, her Pearl dropping silent in an instant though the general showed no sign of embarrassment at the Pearl’s gossip. Quite the opposite, in fact. To her Diamond, Onyx said, “There you have it. I’ll see to it that our forces are ready if they attempt another subterranean ambush.”

“I believe I can write an algorithm to distinguish Biggs Jasper-based tunneling from background seismic activity,” added Hexadot. “That should give your forces a measure of advance notice before the rebels breach for their assault.”

“Very good, Peridot,” answered Pink Diamond. “Any sign of where Rose Quartz and Citrine are based now?”

Jasper, the Jasper of the haunt, said in a growl, “I fought that coward Citrine twice in this region,” and she jabbed with a thick finger toward a distant corner of the map.

In Connie’s peripheral vision she saw the battered Jasper hang her mighty head noticeably lower.

“Twice?” asked Hexadot, a wry tone entering her voice. “Against the Perfect Quartz? However did she survive the first encounter?”

A frustrated rumble rose out of the caped Jasper like the sound of an angry volcano god about to obliterate a Polynesian island. Fists clenched tightly, she ground out, “She is cunning. And treacherous, as you would expect the leader of this shameless rabble uprising to be. I would grind her into shards in a fair fight.” 

Again in a wry tone, Hexadot said, “Yes, it’s a mystery why she refuses to engage in a contest that will see her in shards. Though her tenacity is a testament to the Diamond that designed her,” and she gave a deferential nod to Pink Diamond. Then, almost under her breath, she added, “As well as the Kindergartner that saw the design to fruition.”

Ignoring that last remark, Jasper turned to face her Diamond head on, the motion accompanied by a dramatic sweep of her arm that sent her cape flying out behind her. In an eager, almost begging voice, she said, “And soon I will bring her to you, my Diamond. Just tell me where she is and the number of pieces you want her stone in.”

“My subjects are misguided,” answered Pink Diamond with regal patience. “I would rather Citrine, and Rose Quartz as well, brought back intact.” A sigh. “Though I understand that is not always possible in combat situations. Regardless, I have complete faith in your eventual triumph, Jasper.”

From body language alone Connie could see the savage pride radiating off the caped Jasper. The Jasper of the present, meanwhile, seemed to have shrunk in on herself in that understated way she and Pearl shared, conveying emotional depth through only the cast of her shoulders and the angle of her chin.

Then Connie heard a familiar chime, recognizing it for what it was only a second before Pink Diamond raised her scrambled hand above the table, an octahedral device rising into the air and unfolding into a display that showed Yellow and Blue Diamond looking back.

“Pink, do you have your colony under control once more?” asked Yellow Diamond bluntly.

“Some of my subjects remain unruly,” conceded the pink ruler of Earth in an even, confident voice, “However, my war council has worked diligently to steadily and methodically hem them in. The Rebellion’s momentum has largely been spent and the ring of my forces is tightening around them. It won’t be long before the Rebellion is smothered into nothing.”

Blue Diamond’s gaze fell to Onyx and the lavender passenger riding on her shoulders. The Diamond’s nose wrinkled up slightly. “Your Pearl is misbehaving. And quite small,” she said disdainfully.

Onyx met Blue Diamond’s eyes unflinchingly. “She is exactly where I would have her be. And exactly who I would have her be,” her tone hard and challenging.

“Yes, I can see you place great stock in this… council of yours,” said Yellow Diamond skeptically.

A green rod emerged from Hexadot’s robe, angling the display to view her. Clearing her throat respectfully, she said, “Hello, Yellow Diamond. It’s always a pleasure to see one of the gems I personally injected serving so well in her duties.”

Connie hadn’t thought it was possible for a Diamond to flush but apparently it was, Yellow Diamond looking suddenly flustered then angry at her own reaction. “Peridot Facet-1C Cut-8EX.” A pause. “I hadn’t realized you were on this colony.”

Hexadot offered a shallow bow, more a bob of her head, and said, “Yes. My Diamond sent me here to assist Pink Diamond and ensure her success. And I can state with my full confidence that she has the situation under control.”

Yellow Diamond’s eyes narrowed. “And your confidence is-”

Cutting her off, Hexadot said, “Grounded in rigorous, empirical evidence.” A hologram appeared and then vanished just as quickly. On the screen, something appeared in Yellow Diamond’s peripheral vision. The esteemed Peridot gave a hint of a smirk and added, “It would seem you haven’t changed your communication unit authorization since I first set it up for you when you emerged. Therefore I’ve ensured the fullness of my report is available for your immediate perusal.” Another faux-bow. “Yellow Diamond.”

Yellow Diamond actually retreated a step, abashed and off-balance. Still, before the camera panned away to Blue Diamond, Connie caught a glimpse of Yellow Diamond glaring daggers at the venerable Peridot. Given that the green gem had just swatted a god-queen’s authority aside like an imperious teacher before giving her the equivalent of a reading assignment, she wasn’t surprised.

Jasper, the real Jasper, leaned over and whispered to Connie, “That Peridot was recalled to Homeworld not long after.”

Connie considered this. “Yellow Diamond’s doing?”

Jasper shrugged. “No reason was given but Onyx’ gossip network hinted so and she-” Jasper’s voice grew quieter, almost bitter as she nodded in Pink Diamond’s direction. “And she agreed.”

Blue Diamond frowned into the screen. “Pink, I worry that you’re in over your gem on this. I know you had lofty plans for this little colony of yours, but this conflict is unusual and dangerous.”

“And a growing embarrassment,” added Yellow Diamond petulantly from off-camera.

Blue Diamond nodded in agreement, her expression softening to one of concern. “White has been patient so far, but that could change at any time, Pink. And if she does-” Blue Diamond’s voice grew quieter, as if fearful the colossal Diamond would hear them all the way from Homeworld. “-Then you know you’ll be sent to your tower on Homeworld. Please, Pink, let me and Yellow help. We can bring our legions and have this mess of yours cleaned up before White ever notices. Then you can start over with a smaller colony this time, something not so difficult. You’ll learn, it just takes time.”

Then a throat across the table was cleared, the display turning to take in Jasper’s mighty frame. Bowing deeply, the Quartz said, “Esteemed Diamonds. If you’ll allow me, I would like to say that the rebel deviants are a blight that my magnificent Diamond will see destroyed with the full might of her forces and soon.” Dropping to one knee, head lowered like a knight before her liege, she vowed, “I swear by my eternal loyalty to my Diamond that I will personally see the leaders of the rebellion shattered for their crimes, by my own hand if my Diamond allows it.”

There was a pause, Yellow Diamond reentering the frame to study the still-kneeling figure of Jasper. “And you are?” she asked, intrigued.

Jasper rose, every inch of her radiating the promise of righteous violence upon her Diamond’s enemies. Before she could answer, Blue Diamond said, “Oh, Yellow, this is the Jasper Pink mentioned several cycles ago.”

“The flawless one?”

Pink Diamond walked over to stand beside Jasper. Her face was hard to read with the scrambled appearance, but her body language and tone were pleased. “Yes. My colony has produced marvels, Jasper among them. And, as she says, you don’t need to involve your forces or worry about White’s disapproval: with gems like Jasper loyally serving me, victory is inevitable.”

A pause and then, “Very well,” conceded Blue Diamond, Yellow Diamond nodding in agreement.

Even despite the jumbled form, Connie could tell Pink Diamond was relieved. The caped Jasper, meanwhile, could have been pictured beside the entry in the dictionary for ‘Proud.’ 

Possible the entry for ‘Conceited’ as well.

“Send us some holograms of this Jasper of yours,” added Yellow Diamond. “Rumors are starting to spread among the lower castes. Trivial things but difficult to completely silence. A flawless Quartz like her, however, is exactly the sort of thing the lower order of gems would react to. You have your extension, Pink. Just be sure you have your colony in order by the end of it.”

Pink Diamond nodded then stood there regally until the display had collapsed completely. Then, as the octahedral device was put away, she slumped with visible relief.

Before she could say another word, Jasper, the real Jasper, lunged forward with desperate speed, snatching something up that had been hiding behind Hexadot’s green robe and crushing it into a pink cloud.

The orange gem was already trudging away, a pink shard bubbled and floating after her, not bothering to look back as the haunt crackled into static and dissolved.

Showing more sense than Connie had thought she possessed, P2 managed to leave Jasper alone entirely… instead quizzing Connie on the breadth of Earth desserts she had yet to sample.

* * *

Jasper had stalked ahead, which turned out to be a very good thing when P2 blurted out, “Her lingering injuries are a result of emotional distress. Of course!”

Only a minute ago P2 had been grilling Connie on the range of fillings available within donuts (all while compiling a list, presumably for a later, epic sweets-eating spree) so this declaration seemed doubly a non sequitur.

“What?” asked Connie, voice low. Jasper had always had sharp hearing and while Connie didn’t know what P2 was talking about, she was hoping on general principles alone that Jasper didn’t notice it.

Seemingly immune to taking a hint, or maybe because Homeworld had no concept of an inside voice, P2 said boldly, “Jasper’s form should have long since healed. I’ve been confused by that not happening but I’ve finally figured it out: her superior recovery speed is a gem power, one which she is too emotionally distraught to activate!”

While she was blazing with curiosity about that declaration, there was something more important that Connie had to do first. She stopped where she was, P2 doing the same while wearing a curious expression, then Connie reached out and placed her hands on P2’s shoulders, pivoting the technician so they were face-to-face.

“P2, you shouldn’t be saying things like that where Jasper might hear you,” said Connie in a level voice, unconsciously imitating her mom delivering a warning about some healthy safety risk. “In fact, you should generally try to leave Jasper alone right now. As you saw, she’s in a very bad mood and if she’s provoked enough… something bad might happen.” A beat. “To you.”

P2’s brows furrowed. “But that would constitute a violation of our truce agreement.”

Connie took a deep, steadying breath, now unknowingly imitating her mom giving _Lapis_ a health safety warning. “You have Quartzes in Homeworld space, right?”

“Of course,” answered P2, smiling and looking at Connie perplexed.

“And what do you call it in Homeworld space when someone antagonizes an upset Quartz?” led Connie.

The green gem’s expression grew thoughtful. “A very bad idea,” she answered soon after.

Connie nodded, guiding her slow pupil to understanding. “And would it still be a bad idea if that Quartz was under orders not to hurt anyone?”

“Yes, because the warrior caste is notorious for emotional reaso-Ooooh.”

Another slow nod while Connie maintained constant eye contact with the technician.

Another couple seconds passed as P2 digested this vital lesson. Then gingerly she reached up and removed Connie’s hands from her shoulders, the two resuming their walk after the (now quite distant) Jasper.

Speaking in little more than a whisper, Connie asked, “So, what was that you were saying about Jasper’s healing?”

And to her credit, P2 answered in a whisper of her own. “All gems in the warrior caste have heightened robustness, including the ability to reform quickly as well as swift recovery from damage to their physical form. However, Jaspers are designed to be especially resilient. So much so that they possess power-boosted recovery and durability.”

Connie considered this. “So Jasper is so unstoppable because she’s a gem tank who also has super powers that make her even tankier?”

“Yes!” answered P2 loudly. Then, looking chagrined, she said more quietly, “Yes. However, as this is a power rather than an intrinsic quality of Jasper’s design, the power is reliant on an emotional trigger. Typically something along the lines of a thrill for battle or pride or anger or-”

“Or loyalty,” said Connie, eyes staring at nothing while a block of ice settled into her gut.

P2 nodded. “Yes, that would be an appropriate trigger as well.”

Jasper had been reluctant since they’d set out to reconstruct Pink Diamond. The last haunt had shown past-Jasper declaring her unwavering dedication to that same Diamond while also vowing to personally shatter her enemies.

And Connie knew how that story ended.

Gripped by a sudden fear, Connie found herself sprinting ahead, desperate to catch up to the Quartz they’d lost sight of a few canyon twists back.

Behind her she heard P2 shout while clomping after her, “Does this mean our stealth gossip session is over? Because, if so, I have additional questions relating to cream filling as it compares to fruit filling!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The in-chapter art was drawn by BurdenKing and NeonJohn.
> 
> There's lots to add and share with this chapter! First off, I'd like to show what that in-chapter pic looks like without Pink Diamond's visual scrambling, in part because I like these behind-the-scenes details but mainly because of how cool I think Pink Diamond looks!  

> 
> The Pink Diamond of Connie Swap ultimately embraced her role as a Diamond, including the authority and obligation that accompanied it. We tried to work hints of that into the design while still keeping her recognizably the Diamond quartet's littlest and least-respected sister. If I'm not mistaken, her crown and headdress were inspired by depictions of Mesopotamian royalty.
> 
> In fact, here's our internal model for Pink Diamond. I'm honestly not clear which artist to credit for this. I know MJ had a heavy hand in the original design this evolved from, but I recall all three of them being involved in the workshop discussion that gave rise to the finished form:  

> 
> Also visible in the war room pic was Onyx and three of her Pearls, all of whom you may remember from when the CGs ventured into the Ziggurat in Ep31. Onyx' (uncorrupted) model, drawn by BurdenKing, is here in case you want to see what she looks like without a purple Pearl riding on her shoulders (though why would you?):  

> 
> And for completeness sake, here are her three Pearls, uncorrupted as well as in their corrupted, secretarybird forms:  
  

> 
> Lastly, the Pearl's gossip about an Agate and her Pearl being interrupted in an embarrassing position when rebels came pouring out of a surprise tunnel is a callback to [Bismuth's war story in Ep23Ch5](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14858765/chapters/34562201).
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	5. Diamond Daze - Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, after you finish reading this chapter, there is a related omake story you might want to check out:  
[Deleted Scenes - Episode 39: Shattered Dreams](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10673391/chapters/51911887) by [br42](http://archiveofourown.org/users/br42/pseuds/br42) \- "As if Connie, P2, and Jasper's time locked in the temple wasn't surreal enough, here's a new wrinkle. An outtake from Ep39Ch3 - Ch5.

The haunt was cloaked in darkness. Dominating it was that Diamond communicator display scaled up to highway billboard size. Whether it was hovering in the air or affixed to a wall was impossible to see in the gloom. Even what room the haunt was taking place in was impossible to know.

Standing in a thin beam of light in front of the massive screen was Pink Diamond. The light didn’t illuminate below her waist, though, nor did it light up the area around her: she was simply a pink figure standing in a sea of darkness before a wall-sized display.

There were no visual distortions or jitteriness affecting the Diamond. Instead, in perfect clarity, Connie could see she had no mouth, just smooth pink skin. Connie first mistook one eye as being badly bloodshot but on closer inspection she realized the eye was cracked like a damaged mirror. Tears were trickling down from it… or perhaps leaking out. The other eye was lidless, unblinking. It looked over-large but that was only because of the absence of a top and bottom eyelid.

Both eyes were trained on Jasper, the Quartz having beaten them to the haunt by minutes. They were trained on Jasper and they were _smoldering_ with rage.

The giant display lit up (though it in no way illuminated the room), showing a disapproving Yellow Diamond and a distressed Blue Diamond.

“The Perfect Quartz turns on her own Diamond,” snapped Yellow Diamond, voice harsh. “It’s all over Homeworld space, Pink. It’s an embarrassment made exponentially worse given how much you touted Jasper as your champion. ‘The rebellion is contained,’ you said. ‘A gradual, guaranteed victory is better than a gambled calamity.’ Well this has officially become a calamity, spearheaded by your own Rose Quartz and Citrine, no less.”

There was a period of silence. Yellow and Blue Diamond’s facial expressions shifted as though something was being said, presumably by the Pink Diamond of this past moment, but the mouthless gem only continued to glare angrily, accusatorially at Jasper.

“I’m sorry, Pink,” said Blue Diamond in answer to some unheard response. “I know you’ve tried your best, but it’s all gotten out of control. I told you to start with a simple colony. Something easy, something you could handle. I was worried this would happen.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Pink, this is all my fault. I let you make this mistake. I knew you were overreaching on Earth but-” Her voice hitched and tears appeared at the corners of her eyes. “-But you seemed so happy and I just wanted you to be happy. Why did I-” and her words were lost as the tears flowed freely.

As the blue matriarch descended into distressed sobbing, a wave of blue washed over the display, Yellow Diamond rocking from it as if struck. Bitter tears appeared at her eyes as well, the gem angrily wiping them away. “Blue-” Her voice trembled and Yellow Diamond sharply cleared her throat. “Blue, you can’t blame yourself for this. This was Pink’s doing, hers from the very start. You mustn’t hold yourself responsible for her failings.”

But Blue Diamond was inconsolable, sobbing into her hands while another wave of blue energy crashed over a tearful Yellow Diamond. Turning to the display, angry tears streaming down her cheeks, Yellow Diamond barked, “Look what you’ve done to poor Blue! Your mistakes don’t just hurt you, you know. We suffer too. And now we have to step in and clean up the mess _you made-”_

Yellow Diamond went silent, presumably as the Pink Diamond of the day said something in her defense, though the Pink Diamond of the haunt only glared hatefully at Jasper. The Quartz stood at the edge of the haunt and so was partially covered in shadow herself, a silhouette that was slumped at the shoulders, head low.

Connie jumped when Yellow Diamond shouted from the screen, “Enough! No more excuses!” and she made an angry swipe of her hand, bitter tears still pooling at her eyes while Blue Diamond sobbed piteously. “That Jasper was your last chance. And not only did you squander it, you made us, the Diamonds, into laughing stocks for ever believing you! Do you realize how many gems Blue has had to shatter to keep ahead of this catastrophe?! Do you realize how many Agates I’ve had to deploy to maintain order in the colonies? In _my colonies?_ I have maintained a flawless dissent record for millennia, ruined! All because of you! You and your perfectly-formed disaster!”

There was silence (Blue Diamond’s sobs notwithstanding), the unseen Pink Diamond making some final plea, but it was as ignored by her sister Diamonds as it was unheard by Connie, Jasper, and P2.

Instead, Yellow Diamond walked over and comforted her giant sister. “It’s okay, Blue. We’ll make this better. Quelling one unruly colony? We’ll be done and back on Homeworld in less than five cycles. Then we’ll explain that this was all Pink’s fault. White will listen. She won’t punish us. She won’t punish you. I- I promise.”

She then turned, still holding her sister in her arms, and glared at the screen. “And _you-”_ her voice breaking mid-syllable. “You will apologize to all of us and you will beg White to send you to your tower or, stars help me, I will throw you in _myself,_ seal the doors, and see that they aren’t opened for a _very, VERY_ long time.”

Before the unheard Pink Diamond could say anything else, the screen went dark.

Pink Diamond, actually trembling with rage, glared at Jasper. Mouthless and so unable to voice her fury at the Quartz’ betrayal, she packed everything into a stare that even a bystander like Connie couldn’t meet.

A sob escaped Jasper.

The screen lit up and on it the blue sky of Earth was choked with descending dropships. The legions were coming to Earth, flanked by two armships, one yellow, one blue. In the foreground of the display, so close to the camera that she was only a blurry silhouette, Pink Diamond’s head hung low and she was bawling.

A shorter gem with heart-shaped buns in her hair said something that was drowned out by the landing armada. The gem tried another quip, also inaudible, but when that didn’t work, she stretched herself up and literally wrapped her arms around Pink Diamond in a tight hug.

Spinel’s angry glare was the last thing Connie saw when the screen went dark once more, a glare uncannily similar to the one boring into Jasper by the mute Diamond standing before them.

A spotlight appeared on Jasper, Connie and P2 both instinctively retreating away from it.

The display flashed on, a brief clip of Yellow Diamond shouting, “Ruined! All because of you! You-” the clip stuttered as it skipped ahead a few words, “-perfectly-formed disaster!” The display went black once more.

Pink Diamond glared.

Jasper shook her head like a bull trying to ward off flies. “No!” she shouted. “I didn’t fail you. You failed me!” she challenged. She advanced a step, hand raised in a fist. “How could a Diamond lose to her own gems? You were supposed to be flawless! So how was it that Citrine bested your forces time and again? How was it her Rebellion persisted after you bent the full resources of Earth on their defeat?!”

The display returned. “The rebellion is contained,” answered Yellow Diamond’s clip. “A gradual, guaranteed victory.”

“Excuses. Citrine was victory personified!” roared Jasper. “Your loss was assured the moment you stood in opposition of her!”

The displayed flickered from image to image, an eerie-sounding sentence taking place one distressed Diamond clip at a time. “Citrine- gambled- with- calamity. Victory- not- guaranteed. Jasper- has- excuses. Jasper- an embarrassment. You- can't- apologize. Look what you've done to- Pink. I'm- Shatter- I'm- Shatter- All- your- fault. Turns on her own Diamond. Why did- you- turn on her own Diamond. Why did- Why- Why-” all while Pink Diamond crucified Jasper with her mismatched glare.

“You’re the embarrassment! You were supposed to be perfect. But I _am_ perfect and I lost serving you. I lost again and again. I hated myself. I hated Citrine. I hated each time I returned to your throne room empty-handed. I’d reform after Citrine and I dueled and wish she’d shattered me instead just so I wouldn’t have to suffer the shame of facing the Diamond I served and telling her her champion was too weak.” Tears were streaming down Jasper’s face, trickling across the bruised muscles and battered clothing, pooling in the glove with the star ripped nearly in half.

“You seemed so happy and I just wanted you to be happy-” answered Blue Diamond. The voice speaking the words were grief-filled, but the underlying message was scathing. Then Yellow Diamond’s voice added, “Hold yourself responsible for- your- failings.”

“I loved you,” roared Jasper. “All your gems loved you, but me most of all! And you named me your champion! Praised me in front of everyone at the Ziggurat ball. Boasted of me to the entire empire. You loved me back _but I was still losing!_ One of us had to be defective, it was the only explanation. Because loving you meant hating myself."

Something in Jasper’s voice gave, as though a last vestige of restraint, or pride, or denial broke, the emotions within spilling out. “I chose me when I chose her! That’s what really happened!” 

Jasper raised her head, meeting Pink Diamond’s baleful gaze. “Happy? No! Is that what you want to hear? In Citrine I knew victory but I never knew love. I was her champion too. Her shieldbearer. Her closest lieutenant. And that was it. That was all I ever was,” finished Jasper, her rant starting at a shout and ending in a whisper.

Connie was about to approach the Quartz when the spotlight on her vanished. Then the display flashed but the volume was lower. “Squander- Earth. Squander- Homeworld. Gambled- and- we- all- suffer.”

The light on Pink Diamond faded, the display vanishing from sight too. For a long second there was nothing visible save for Jasper’s distraught, half-shadowed silhouette. Then the Quartz turned and first ran then spindashed away, careening off a sandstone wall without slowing, soon vanishing around a corner until even the whine of her spindash faded beyond hearing.

Seconds passed. Then in the haunt it was like the house lights in a theater were being raised. Connie and P2 found themselves on the cusp of a featureless room, empty save for a pink eye with a cracked sclera lying in the middle of the floor. It looked from P2 to Connie to where Jasper had earlier been standing.

It closed its eye and didn’t open it even when Connie approached, sword in hand.

* * *

When Connie and P2 left, they didn’t follow Jasper. She hadn’t fled in the direction of the next haunt. Instead, girl and technician went down another path and Connie swore that when this was all over she’d try and help the Quartz see that, whatever else, she _was_ loved.

“You should tell your Quartz not to take these simulations so seriously,” was P2’s unbidden advice.

Connie shot the green gem a glare before, a few paces later, her expression softened. “Why is that?” she asked.

“Because they are of questionable accuracy, the emotion-fueled reactions of a fragmented personality with, frankly, quite a lot to be upset about,” explained P2.

Connie considered this then nodded. That made sense. She’d have to remember that when she eventually spoke with Jasper.

P2 scoffed. “After all, how else do you explain the flawless, logical Yellow Diamond acting so short-sighted and spiteful!” This was followed by a short laugh at the sheer absurdity of it.

* * *

In the next haunt, Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond both sat on thrones, dominating Pink Diamond’s war room. As many generals and advisers were wearing yellow and blue as pink, and Pink Diamond had to stand among them. When she spoke, her sister’s listened though with a sour or sad expression as they did.

The haunt after that, the only pink court gem was Onyx, and she was relegated to a display, there remotely rather than in-person. There was no room at the table for Pink Diamond as Blue and Yellow dictated the course of the war.

The haunt after that _did_ show Pink Diamond in a throne, but it was in an opulently adorned chamber with no generals or war planning, only servants and the heart-haired gem struggling to put a smile on her best friend’s face.

The haunt after that showed Pink Diamond in a rage, railing and shouting and tearing at the lavish decorations of her gilded cage. Pink Diamond actually charged at Connie when the girl tried to enter the scene to hunt for the shard. She didn’t understand why until she saw that the shadow she was casting across the tattered tapestries was Yellow Diamond’s.

Eventually, Topaz guards charged in and managed to separate Pink Diamond from the faux-Diamond she was trying to assault.

Another haunt and once again they came to the opulent throne room for Pink Diamond, ruler of Earth in name only. The terminals gleamed like they were newly installed, the tapestries were secured firmly in place, and the statues looked to have been rebuilt, or so it looked to Connie. Apparently Pink Diamond still hadn’t taken gracefully to her confinement.

Pink Diamond sat atop her throne, slumped low, her expression desultory. An air of ennui hung about her. Of Spinel there was no sign.

For several long minutes, absolutely nothing happened save for Pink Diamond drumming the fingers of one hand against the arm of her throne. Then Connie and Pink Diamond perked up as they heard the sound of multiple footsteps approaching.

Rose Quartz entered, flanked by the same stoic Topaz guards as Connie had seen before. It took Connie a second to recognize the outfit she was wearing: she was dressed like a general of the Rebellion, or rather, _the_ general of half of the Rebellion. She still held her infamous pink sword, but the scabbard was missing.

Apparently for Pink Diamond, the Schism had mostly happened while she had been under the Diamond-equivalent of house arrest.

One Topaz attempted to remove her sword when Pink Diamond stirred, saying, “Don’t. That weapon is no threat to me, nor is this gem.”

After a moment of thought the Topaz mutely nodded, the squad of them retreating to the back of the room but very conspicuously not leaving it. Connie knew from past haunts that while the Topaz guards would usually listen to Pink Diamond, they took their orders from Yellow.

Rose Quartz, meanwhile, had dropped to her knee. The sword remained in her hand but it was resting on the floor, a mere accessory to her surrender. “My- My Diamond. She has to be stopped. I couldn’t stop her.” Her eyes rose and the look she fixed Pink Diamond with was pleading. “Citrine will ruin everything unless you defeat her.” She stood, advancing a step, which made several of the guards twitch anxiously.

“Please,” begged Rose Quartz.

Pink Diamond eyed her silently for a minute, then two. “It seems that you and your sister shall be my greatest lasting accomplishment. If Spinel were still here I would ask if she had written the future’s script because _that_ is a joke of terrible perfection.”

Rose Quartz seemed at a loss for what to make of that, the sword hanging limply in her grip. Then she said, “My Diamond, please, take me back, make use of me, but stop my sister before she shatters you and twists the Rebellion into a mockery of itself.”

The deposed matriarch’s eyes narrowed, but she otherwise remained statuesque. “Let me guess. Your sister has taken everything from you, everything you wanted. She’s taken it in your name all while you scream for her to stop.” She sat up slightly. “Do I have the right of it?”

The words caught in Rose’s throat, the gem only nodding in agreement.

Finally Pink Diamond rose in her seat, regal bearing returning, her expression harsh but determined. “Listen and listen well when you report this to my sister.”

It took Connie and Rose both a second to realize Pink Diamond was addressing the Topaz guards.

“I hereby receive Rose Quartz back to my court,” intoned Pink Diamond. “She is absolved of all her past misdeeds. Blame for the Rebellion is laid solely at her sister Citrine’s feet,” and Rose Quartz flinched as if she’d been struck. Pink Diamond, meanwhile, grinned a vicious grin as if savoring the reaction. “Furthermore, I elevate Rose Quartz to be the enforcer of my will. She acts with my authority and no other gem in my court is above her scrutiny. In this I proclaim her _eternal loyalty-”_ the words coming out bitter, the punchline to a sardonic joke only she understood, “-to the empire of gemkind.”

Rose stood there, clearly unsure what to say to that. Finally she managed a curtsy and a, “Thank you, my Diamond.”

Without smiling, Pink Diamond said, “Now, give them that sword of yours so they’ll leave us alone.” Pitching her voice to be clearly heard from the back of the room, she added, “I would talk with my most loyal of servants in confidence.”

A Topaz guard approached, mutely taking the sword before the entire squad filed out. There was a close --and lock-- of the door.

A beat of silence passed and then Pink Diamond laughed. It was bitter and low but genuine, ending as abruptly as it started. “Welcome back, my traitorous Rose.”

Rose shook her head, her voluminous pink curls swaying with the motion. “No, my Diamond. No more. I will not betray you again, not with _her_ out there. I swear.”

Apparently Pink Diamond found this even more hilarious, laughing until it was almost a cackle.

“You doubt my words?” challenged Rose though taken aback.

Pink Diamond shook her head. “No. In fact, of all the gems I still command, you I trust most of all. Even Onyx would betray me if her darling Pearls were used as leverage. But you were made to be half of a whole in harmony. You are incomplete, shattered as surely as if your gemstone were in pieces, and like a gemstone, once shattered, there can be no mending it. So long as I stand in opposition to your other half, you are mine forever.”

“You make me sound like something monstrous, my Diamond,” objected Rose Quartz. “But I’m the good one, the moral one. Unlike her, there are lines I refuse to cross.”

“And if your sister retreats back across those lines? What then? Will you forgive her? Return to her side?” asked Pink Diamond in a teasing voice.

“Never. What she would do- How could I?”

Another laugh from Pink Diamond. “You can’t. That is precisely my point.”

The pink Diamond and her pink enforcer stared at one another, one with understanding, the other with confusion.

Pink Diamond rose from her throne and began to pace. “Either my sisters will end this Rebellion or they won’t. If the Earth is brought to heel, so too shall I. Your sister will be shattered, of course. The Earth will be converted into another colony like any other and you will know what a life free of your other half will truly be like. Then, after I finally emerge from my tower, I will have someone who understands what I have endured.”

She pivoted to face Rose. “That is the service, the comfort you will provide me, my loyal Rose. While I wait millennia for my sisters to release me so I can thank them for their mercy, I will remember you suffering in kind. After my release perhaps we can meet and be together in our desolation.”

With casual violence, Pink Diamond ripped one of the tapestries from the wall, balling it up and tossing it apathetically over her shoulder where it landed in a corner.

She continued to pace toward the other side of the room. “On the other hand, if Citrine somehow drives my sisters off, I will be destroyed and the empire will stagnate or decline while the Earth celebrates your sister’s resounding victory.”

Rose Quartz’ teeth were clenched at the thought.

“And you, my loyal Rose, will be forced to live with that fact. That Citrine won and is lauded for the victor while you, no doubt, are demonized as a betrayer or an incompetent. And you will do as you must. If Citrine won then so too must you. And win more grandly, otherwise she has proven herself the superior sister, for she did it first and under the opposition of all. Then you will show my sisters exactly how terrible a thing your loyalty can be.” Pink Diamond punctuated the statement by hammering a pink fist through the screen of a terminal, the machine sparking as shattered glass fell across the floor.

For some reason, the glass was white, yellow, and blue despite Connie not seeing anything that could be reflecting those colors off the fragments.

Floundering, Rose bowed and said, “What would you have me do, my Diamond? How can we defeat Citrine?”

“Do as you would, Rose: you serve my will regardless. For you see, you will never be rid of your sister, just as I will never be rid of mine. That is the terrible truth that binds you to me stronger than any oath.”

When Pink Diamond had ripped away the tapestry, she’d revealed the pink hand that was clinging to the wall, now bereft of its hiding place. Connie had walked close, sword in hand, but waited.

Rose Quartz turned to leave. She’d arrived the failed Rebellion general but was now the fearsome right hand to Pink Diamond herself. In time, Connie knew, she would insinuate herself into the service of all the Diamonds. And if Pearl’s account was accurate, she had been hard at work on some grand scheme of her own, one that would use the Cluster and Pink Diamond’s shards to remake the empire into something else.

As Rose Quartz left, the door unlocking and opening before her, Pink Diamond was looking at Connie. She was looking at Connie while she said to Rose, “Prove me right, Quartz of mine.”

Connie poofed the shard and bubbled it, the haunt crackling with static as it fizzled away to be replaced with canyon walls.

She’d half-expected, half-dreaded seeing her mother shatter Pink Diamond. That’d seem like a pivotal and traumatic moment that Pink Diamond would want shared. But, according to P2’s count, that had been the last shard.

Either the shard that held the memory of her shattering was in the bubble Citrine had left behind for Homeworld to take as proof of Pink Diamond’s demise, or Connie had misjudged something about the shattered matriarch. Maybe, contrary to Connie’s expectations, this was the end of Pink Diamond’s story, her shattering merely one of the two outcomes she’d foreseen.

With a faint sense of foreboding Connie realized that, with all the shards acquired, P2 would be able to reassemble Pink Diamond and she might actually find out.

“Let’s go,” said Connie, physically untired but emotionally drained to her core.

P2 waved the bubble over, eyeing the shard, an excited giggle emerging from her as she _pranced_ in a little circle. “This is going to be so exciting!” Gamboling after her, P2 said, “But what about Jasper? We need to retrieve her if only because she has several of the shards in her possession.”

Voice hollow and tired, Connie said, “Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure I know where she is.”

Sure enough, the Perfect Quartz was slumped against the temple door --still under Diamond-tier override, though P2 had already said she could circumvent that when there wasn’t a shard there actively imposing it-- and seated on the floor. Several bubbles floated over her head like an ironically festive rain cloud. Her injuries were still present and painful-looking.

“Got them all?” she asked, barely raising her head.

Connie nodded, walking over and sitting beside the warrior.

P2, meanwhile, became a figure at the center of a swarm of floating fingers and holograms as she began her high-tech hacking, talking excitedly to herself as she worked.

“You did the right thing,” said Connie in a low voice. “Helping Citrine. You know that, right?”

Jasper gave the impression of a nod, one knee raised to her chest, the other splayed out, the Quartz not so much relaxed as too beaten down to sit any other way. “For the wrong reason, though.”

Connie sat and thought about that. Then she shook her head. “You did it. It was right. That’s enough. Being perfect isn’t something you are. I don’t think anyone can really be perfect, not in every way and not all the time.” She shrugged. “The world’s-” A pause. “The universe,” she amended, “is too messy and complicated for that.”

“Maybe,” Jasper conceded after several minutes of silence… P2’s self-narration notwithstanding.

“Something that’s not a maybe?” offered Connie, looking up and over at the Quartz. “You’re loved now. By me. By Peridot and Lapis and Bismuth. By Steven.” She cracked a smile. “Wolf too given how excited he gets about patrolling with you.”

“It’s not the same,” countered Jasper.

“No,” agreed Connie. “But it’s real. Maybe that can be enough. Maybe there can be more in the future.”

“Maybe,” answered Jasper wearily.

The two sat there in exhausted silence after that, unmoving save for Jasper once reaching over and lightly ruffling Connie’s hair.

By the time the door opened, morning light and Mom’s cry of joyous disbelief streaming through, Connie noticed that some of Jasper’s bruises were looking smaller.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The in-chapter art was drawn by BurdenKing, who, you can probably tell, has a real knack for monsters and body horror. In fact, these chapters of this episode were originally intended to be our Halloween content. Ep38 took longer than planned, so we missed the window by... about a month, but the horror roots are still there.
> 
> And so we finally come to the end of the shard hunt and forced march through not only Pink Diamond's backstory but also Jasper's, with some key stops along the way for Rose Quartz and Citrine too. After all, the fic has talked in general about Jasper's pivot to the Rebellion but here we quite literally shined a spotlight on it. As with many things, Jasper had a very proud-sounding explanation for something that was actually much simpler and more personal than she wanted to admit.
> 
> More than that, though, we got to see why the promo image for _Shattered Dreams_ showed Blue and Yellow Diamond playing with the Pink Diamond doll instead of Citrine and Rose Quartz. It wasn't Citrine who shattered Pink Diamond's dreams. It wasn't Rose Quartz either. Pink Diamond's biggest obstacle and what was ultimately her undoing were the other Diamonds, most actively Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond. As in _Steven Universe_, it's ultimately the dysfunction among the Diamonds (despite them overtly caring for one another) that set into motion the central conflict of this story.
> 
> Though Pink Diamond clearly had plenty of pent up frustrations to vent at Jasper too.
> 
> For any who are curious, I encourage you to go and revisit [Citrine's account of the Rebellion](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17595881/chapters/41697383) across Ep31Ch3 - Ep31Ch5, as well as [Rose's muttering's to Pearl](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20768879/chapters/49833986) about her Diamond having her back. These latest chapters of Ep39 combined with those provides probably the most complete look at the events and tragedies of all the larger-than-life figures responsible for the messy magical destiny Connie was born into.
> 
> Anyway, this episode isn't over yet! After all, we've still got a Diamond to glue back together. However, with the Thanksgiving holiday in the way (and with me bushed from writing these 3 big ol' chapters), you can expect a smaller and lighter update to go up next Wednesday, December 4th. So tune in next Wednesday for the exciting (but decidedly less dramatic) next installment of _Shattered Dreams!_
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	6. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, after you finish reading this chapter, there is a related omake story you might want to check out:  
[Power Testing: Metallokinesis](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10673391/chapters/50803228) by [br42](http://archiveofourown.org/users/br42/pseuds/br42) \- "Lapis, Jasper, Bismuth, Connie, and Steven spend the day testing Peridot's new ability to sense and manipulate metal. Observations, both scientific and decidedly unscientific, are made." **This fic is 100% canon.**

The temple door opened right as P2 cheerily announced, "Diamond-tier override overridden!"

Connie rose from where she'd been sitting in companionable, silent solidarity beside Jasper, feeling simultaneously relieved and exhausted. Not physically exhausted but multi-hour-lectures-between-homework-and-my-brain-is-pudding exhausted. Full-day-patrol-with-Jasper-and-I've-sprained-whatever-muscle-is-involved-in-appearing-vigilant exhausted. Sifting-through-Lapis'-emotional-baggage-over-a-long-heart-to-heart exhausted.

It had been a long day for Connie contrary to (and partially because of) the early morning sunlight coming through the doorway.

P2 stepped into view and waved. "Hello! I have hijacked your base's control software. All praise is appreciated but I have a prioritized list of baked goods so you can thank me most efficiently."

A second later Steven and Mom both rushed forward excitedly. P2 smiled in anticipation of hugs and was looking rather perplexed when the two ran right past her, lovingly tackling Connie to the ground instead.

"You made it ou-" started Steven but the rest of his sentence was drowned out by Mom's cry of joyous relief. Even that was cut off when Wolf's bark shook the air, the large hound bounding in to deliver happy doggy licks to all parties.

It was Bismuth who set things right for the mottled gem, walking over and offering P2 a friendly punch to the shoulder. "Nice. Thanks for getting our gals out of there."

Connie continued to lovingly drown under a hug pile.

P2 smiled broadly, hauling back comedically far to wallop Bismuth's bicep. She struck with the end of her limb enhancer, swinging it like a club, the comparatively delicate floating fingers fanning out and avoiding the exchange. "You're welcome, Diamond-forsaken militant."

If anything, the term of address made the smith's grin deepen.

It was Lapis who saved Connie, winging past the odd bonding taking place in the temple entryway and reaching into the affectionate mass to haul the girl out. It was not unlike witnessing a successful grab in one of the claw machine games at Funland Arcade.

Connie was about to express her gratitude to the hydrokinetic when the words died on her lips, the state of the living room finally visible to her.

All the furniture had been pushed to the sides of the room or removed entirely. The floor was covered with Wolf-scale claw marks, occasional scorching, and numerous puddles. Scattered about were bent lengths of metal, the original purpose of which Connie was unable to divine. In the corner were several jacks, each larger than the last, culminating in a huge one Connie knew was meant to be used on Mr. Universe's tour bus. Sitting drunkenly on what would normally be Jasper's spot on the couch was what appeared to be a shattered _battering ram_ and, if Connie wasn't mistaken, she could see the sunrise-drenched silhouettes of several light cannons out on the porch.

She swallowed, relieved the rescue effort hadn't progressed that far.

Jasper pushed past looking haggard and preoccupied. Wordlessly she passed several shard-filled bubbles over to Bismuth, offering only a grunt in response to the questions Bismuth and Lapis sent her way.

"Going on patrol," she muttered, stepping onto the warp pad. She and Connie exchanged brief, knowing looks before the Quartz vanished in a column of light.

"She was injured," observed Mom, following the girl as she drifted into the middle of the living room.

Connie nodded. "Yeah." _In more ways than one,_ she silently added, wishing the Quartz a good, introspective patrol.

Bismuth, meanwhile, was holding up the bubbles to the light, examining the shattered Diamond fragments within. Her expression landed somewhere between a critic appreciating a work of art and a kid gawking at something amazing.

"What the heck happened in there, Con-con?" asked Lapis, a faintly worried look on her face as she looked from warp pad to girl and back.

Coming down from the thrill of exiting the temple, Connie wavered on her feet. "It's a long story."

"I have several hours of high-quality footage!" exclaimed P2.

"A really long story," amended the girl. "Can... Can I give you all the summary version right now so I can go collapse-" She glanced at the Beach House in disarray. "-Over at Steven's house?"

"[Destiny overdose?]" signed her boyfriend and Connie signed back while giving an exaggerated nod.

"Ah, I believe that will be okay, dear," said Mom, the understanding in her voice louder than the concern underlying it.

"But first, I demand congratulatory donuts," insisted P2.

Glances were exchanged around the room.

"Yeah, okay," agreed Bismuth, already moving for the door, bubbles in tow. "Just don't jostle the crate labeled 'Plan G' on the porch or you'll be blasted into sprinkles."

Connie opened her mouth, about to ask just what letter of the alphabet they’d worked their way up to before the temple door had opened, then wisely decided she'd be happier not knowing.

* * *

Connie didn't stick around for the full debrief, her main contribution being to say, emphatically, that letting a Diamond (intact or in shards) anywhere near the temple was a BAD IDEA. Full stop. Capital letters.

With the temple out of consideration, they needed somewhere secure for P2 to actually reassemble the shards. Somewhere that wasn't likely to be interrupted by monster attacks. Or Rose attacks, who, Bismuth pointed out, was still out there even if she was supposed to be 'sleeping off an Alloy overdose.'

According to P2, it'd be at least a week before the reassembly process was complete, though she hinted with characteristic bluntness that a steady stream of equipment and pastries would see the process go more quickly.

Lars, who had the bad luck of opening the shop that morning, had been dropping increasingly obvious hints that he wanted them all to stop holding an ad hoc planning session in the Big Donut and leave. Connie was just about to take him up on that when Steven struck on the bright idea that P2 work out of Citrine’s Archive. After all, it was hidden and pretty much impossible for anyone except Connie or Wolf to get into. It even had a lab!

P2 agreed after it was made clear she would be howl-portaled in and out as needed and, more importantly, that her three boxes of donuts would be allowed to accompany her there.

The others left to go tidy up/repair the Beach House and watch hours of Pink Diamond's maybe-intentionally-communicated tragic backstory. Connie and Steven, however, walked back to his house where Connie did nothing more strenuous than watch some of the fluffier animated movies in the Universe family movie collection.

She fell asleep less than twenty minutes into _The Emperor's New Groove._

* * *

It had been two days since escaping Jasper's room, two days of comparative calm and routine for Connie. Which was why she was taking her place on the couch with a nervous feeling in her gut.

Something was happening.

Mom had called an all-hands meeting about 'a matter of great significance.'

A carpet of blue hair dropped down, some spilling over Connie's shoulder as Lapis dangled upside down off the edge of the loft. "Hey Pinky. Con-con. Either of you know what Dot wants to talk about?"

Connie only shook her head, eyes distant as her mind provided a litany of possibilities, each worse or more disruptive than the last.

Sparing his girlfriend a concerned look, Steven shrugged. "Something about P2 rebuilding Pink Diamond maybe?"

Lapis shook her head, the curtain of blue hair swaying and tickling Connie's neck a little, the girl batting it away. With one more tickling headshake for good measure, Lapis relented and turned to Steven. "Nah. We've all been taking turns watching green Doctor Frankenstein at the Archive, making sure she doesn't get up to any funny business. So I know that's not it: she's still got a lot of Diamond left to glue back together." She frowned which, contrary to the popular expression, did not make it look like she was smiling. "You go there expecting crackling electrodes and the crazed laugh of a mad genius but instead it's watching P2 play with pink Legos for hours on end. After a while you get too bored to be squicked out."

Bismuth sauntered over, the acerbic smell of recent metalworking about her. She leaned over and rested her elbow on the back of the couch, just so happening to pin some of Lapis' hair in the process. "Hey gals. Meatball," she greeted.

"Ow. Ow ow. _Ow!_ Stop leaning on the drapery, you lummox," was Lapis’ reply. She swatted Bismuth for good measure. The smith feigned a look of surprise and removed her elbow, straightening up. She shot Connie and Steven a wink. With a huff, Lapis flipped over and sat upright in the loft, cradling her hair as if soothing an upset infant.

Bismuth, grinning widely, drawled out, "Don't go knocking Legos, Blue. They're the best thing humanity has made since the scimitar.” Then, to all three of them, she added, “Anyway, I don't know what Green's up to but she hasn't asked for anything new with the Cluster-related work going on so I doubt it's related to that."

While the group pondered, Connie scooted closer to her boyfriend, resting her head on his shoulder. Partially it was out of affection. Partially it was for emotional comfort. And partially it was for warmth: Steven was one of those people who was always warm, like he had a miniature furnace inside him. She hadn't thought as highly about that fact when they started dating in late summer but for some reason she was appreciating that all the more as winter deepened.

There was a flash and then Jasper and Wolf strode and loped, respectively, off the warp pad. As he so often did after patrolling with Jasper, Wolf made a beeline for his water dish and food bowl. Jasper, meanwhile, gave everyone an acknowledging nod before falling into a parade rest, a look of mild curiosity settling on her face.

When the Quartz hadn’t been watching P2, she’d been on patrol; it’d been that way ever since getting out of her room. Connie had to resist the temptation to peek at the Quartz' mindscape to know more. Still, patrols were Jasper's equivalent of a long walk to clear her head. That she was doing that rather than picking fights with Garnet or sulking in the Burning Room Connie took as a good sign.

That line of contemplation, though, was cut short when the temple door opened and Mom stepped through. The green gem faltered briefly, seeing all eyes upon her, then straightened up and walked toward the center of the room. Doris and Toasty followed, the two working together to pull a little red wagon that was laden with assorted pieces of tech (or scrap, it was hard to tell sometimes) as well as poster board illustrations and one of those telescoping aluminum pointers.

The sight of what was effectively a miniature, mechanical wagon team brought a slight squee from Steven, one which Connie wordlessly concurred with via hand squeeze.

Mom stopped in the middle of the living room. Doris and Toasty stopped a few feet back but the wagon had enough momentum that it continued anyway, pushing the two struggling robonoids across the floor until they bumped against the gem's shin. She looked down, frowned slightly, and helped detangle the off-balance bots.

Straightening back up, Mom said, "I expect you're curious why I have called you all here."

This was met with nods from across the living room. Wolf peered around the bottom of the kitchen divider, panting in agreement. Even Toasty started to nod until Doris chirped a rebuke its way.

Mom continued. "As Lapis is aware, I recently had a very revelatory trip following the Harvest Festival gathering. It is relating to this that I wish to speak to you all today."

Expressions ranging from curious to pleased were the unspoken response from the audience.

Mom started to pace. "After my limb enhancers were destroyed, I grew despondent. I feared that I would be unable to meaningfully contribute to the cause, and during an especially perilous time no less." She traveled to one end of the Beach House, pivoted in place, and started back the way she came. "I was unpleasant to some who meant me well-" and she spared Lapis an apologetic look (which the blue gem waved off with a wink and a mimed kiss). "-And sought solace through less-than-ideal means like engineering tasks and-" Another glance, this one to Jasper. "-Fusion."

The Quartz gave Peridot an acknowledging head tilt, adding, "It takes two to fuse," and leaving it at that.

Mom paused, letting the subtext of that statement sink in. Then she shook her head and resumed pacing, getting back on track. "However, I realized I was suffering from flawed assumptions. Specifically that my limb enhancers, along with all of my other technological fabrications, were the source of my worth rather than merely force multipliers."

Silence, and then Connie asked, "Does this mean you're not feeling so depressed anymore, M- ma'am?" her voice lilting up in question and burgeoning hope both.

Mom smiled back at Connie over apologetic eyes. "It is," she said. "And I thank you for your concern, dear."

Connie's slump of relief was large enough it was almost comedic.

"That's great, Green," said Bismuth earnestly. She gestured toward the wagon of tech. "But what's that stuff?"

"Ah, yes," answered Mom, returning to the topic at hand. "Following from that revised premise, I concluded that true efficacy would be had through scientific innovation and the technological applications that'd follow. The devices present are modest examples thereof, namely advancements made possible through the combination of Era-1 and Era-2 materials. These are all familiar components used widely across the gemtech infrastructure girdling this planet. However, these specific prototypes are items that are superior to their antecedents. Replacing the existing components with these would cause a tremendous leap forward in a number of ways: reducing maintenance, increasing reliability, providing superior output in the machines they’re a part of. In total, such a retrofitting would lay the foundation for still more advancements. In fact- Hmm, give me a moment. I hadn't planned to reach this point in the presentation so soon, but I have some visual aids which-"

Mom reached for one of the poster board illustrations, the telescoping pointer flying up into her hand.

Lapis, Connie, Steven, and Bismuth all reacted audibly to that with some variation of, "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!" Wolf’s head tilted the side in doggy confusion. Jasper, meanwhile, was wearing a rare expression of abject surprise.

"Ah, here you'll-" Mom jolted, looking up confusedly. Then she glanced at the pointer that everyone was staring at and understanding dawned. "Oh, yes. A comparatively minor but still quite fortuitous consequence of my epiphany was-" The pointer, meanwhile, floated up from her hand and was now orbiting above her head.

Everyone (except Jasper and Wolf) screamed again.

Lapis continued even after the others had fallen silent, a high, sustained squeal of surprise and delight. Peridot, then others, looked her way but the blue gem showed no sign of stopping and so Peridot carried on regardless.

"For reasons I have yet to fully comprehend-" --"Eeeeeh!"-- "-I have unlocked the power of metallokinesis. It was thought to be the sole purview-" --"Eeeeeh!"-- "-of Era-1 Peridots but it appears to be latent even within an Era-2 such as myself."

"Eeeeeh!"

Bismuth's already wide smile widened further, transforming into a great, hooting laugh. The smith rose and walked over as if to congratulate Peridot but rather than a handshake, she slapped Peridot on the back hard enough to make the technician tumble to the floor.

Wolf barked his shared enthusiasm from the sidelines.

"Eeeeeh!" continued Lapis, literally vibrating with excitement.

By the time Peridot had risen back to her feet, she was nearly tackled by Connie, the girl pulling her mom into a hug so enthusiastic the two had to spin around one another to bleed off momentum.

Mother and daughter avoided trampling the robonoids only because the two bots backpedaled furiously. However, the laden wagon, once moving, was difficult for Doris and Toasty to halt, rolling across the rest of the living room until Jasper took pity and stopped it with the heel of her boot.

"Oh my gosh! Are you using magnet powers? Is it metalbending? Can you metalbend platinum because in _Legend of Korra-_" Steven was trying to retrieve his power diary from his backpack but kept getting interrupted by his own media-based comparisons.

Mom and daughter had separated for only seconds when Lapis’ “Eeeeeh!” concluded with the gem swooping down from the loft and knocking Peridot to the floor in an exultant tackle-hug.

* * *

Connie wanted to get something cool made and quickly.

She'd already talked the idea over with Jasper, Lapis, and Steven that morning, the details of Mom’s demonstration yesterday still fresh on everyone’s mind. After the four of them had settled on what they wanted, Steven made a quick call to Jeff who, based on Steven's excitedly relayed details, doodled up a picture of their idea and texted them the file.

Connie sometimes forgot that Jeff was good at art and she wasn't sure why. Steven even had the comic books the two of them had made together displayed with pride on his bookshelf.

Anyway, needing something complicated made in a hurry usually meant going to Mom. The problem was that that something was a present _for_ Mom. So that meant going to Bismuth. And Connie needed to do it quickly because Mom's power testing was only a couple days away.

Connie stepped off the warp pad found herself gazing at the familiar countryside near the Universe family barn. With as much as gemkind had made use of that barn, Connie wasn't sure if that made the 'Universe' part less appropriate... or more.

She also felt the cold of a Delmarva December. She was chilly and wordlessly regretting not putting on more layers before hustling to the warp pad.

Quite undisturbed by the temperature was Bismuth, the smith looking up from her work and giving Connie a friendly wave. Despite the drill having already been launched, Bismuth had kept the combination smithy/machine shop she'd assembled on site. She was using it now to build the vehicle that would let passengers and cargo travel to the Cluster and back using the preexisting drill tunnel.

Two oversized tank treads made of matte silver material, stacks of components, and a skeletal, box-shaped, metal framework were proof that the smith had been hard at work and making steady progress.

"Hey Alloy," called the gem once Connie was closer. "Any new _Bismuth_ going on?"

Connie smiled, the joke having gone from 'kinda funny' to 'played out' and back around to 'comfortably endearing' since the rainbow gem had joined the group. Rejoined, technically, but that's not how it felt to Connie.

"Yeah! There was something the others and I wanted to give to-" _Mom_ "-Peridot during the power testing that's coming up." Pulling out her phone, Connie found the relevant pictures, holding the screen up for the smith to see.

Bismuth leaned in close, one side of her rainbow hair pressing against Connie's winter hat. "Hmm," she said appraisingly. "Yeah. That should be easy enough. Durasteel for the bowl. Green and I made some stuff for shock absorption in the drill that'll work for the traction pad interior. I've got a whole bunch of surplus material on hand-" and she gestured over her shoulder at a tarp-covered pile maybe fifty feet away, "-so I can have the job done this evening."

"Really?!" exclaimed Connie.

She'd expected Bismuth to help but had anticipated delays. The smith’s existing workload was heavy enough, and it seemed like she needed to disappear to her volcanic smithy constantly to smelt this or forge that.

"That's perfect!" Connie threw her arms around Bismuth's muscular torso. Her puffy winter attire insulated her from the cold touch of the smith's armored arm when the gem hugged her back.

Bismuth chuckled, peeling the girl free after a couple of seconds. "Happy to help, Alloy. Though you should know better than to trust an engineer before they actually give you the finished product."

Connie, her smile unrelenting, remembered something her mom had said with some ironic relish once, and repeated it to Bismuth. "In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, however, there is."

The smith's eyes lit up. "Yeah, exactly." Gesturing for Connie's phone once more, she pointed a thick finger at the picture and said, "And that lettering, 'McFly 2.0'-" She paused. "What's that mean, anyway?"

"Movie reference," answered Connie.

Bismuth, having a millennia-wide gulf of lost time, had to ask the context of a lot of things and so accepted the explanation readily. "Gotcha. Anyway, if you want that embossed or added as an outer layer of differently-colored materials, that's going to slow things down."

Connie was already shaking her head. "No, we're just going to paint it on. Steven already found stencils online for doing the _Back to the Future_ font."

"Then that settles it," and Bismuth clapped her heavily on the shoulder.

With a bright smile, Connie re-wrapped the scarf that had been jostled loose and thanked Bismuth again. The two spent a couple of minutes talking and examining Jeff’s drawing, all while Bismuth jotted down the details, the smith using a mostly-rectangular bit of scrap metal like a piece of scratch paper.

Once she was confident Bismuth had the right idea, Connie said a hasty goodbye, eager to hurry back so she could tell the others of her success.

She was a couple paces away when Bismuth said, "Actually, since you're here, there was one other thing I wanted to bring up."

"Oh, alright." She jogged back, subconsciously drifting toward the warmth radiating from the furnace burning merrily in the nearby forge.

Bismuth's expression shifted from jocular to something steely. "Whatever happens next, after our little break?" she said. "It'll all be your fault."

Connie's cheery attitude dimmed with concern-laced confusion. "I- What?"

"When Rose wakes up from her little nap, anything she breaks, any trouble she causes, anyone she hurts," clarified Bismuth, fixing Connie with a hard stare. "That's going to be your fault. I want to be sure you know that."

Connie's brows furrowed. "I don't- Why?" She shook her head. _And what brought this on?_ she asked in her own thoughts.

"Because you pulled your sword at the Sanctuary and stopped me when I could have ended it." Bismuth's hands were hands, not weapons. They weren't even balled into fists, but there was a faint air of menace about her that Connie couldn't help but notice.

Without realizing it, the girl fell into a defensive stance, a corner of her mind mentally rehearsing the gestures needed to pull down the neck of her collar and pull free her gem weapon. There was a reason she wore her scarf loose, after all.

"I couldn't just-" but the girl's rebuttal was silenced by a dismissive wave from the smith.

Shaking her head, Bismuth said, "I know you had your reasons. And I'm not trying to debate them. But it's fact that you made a decision when you pulled that sword on me. Maybe it was the right decision." She shrugged, broad shoulders rising and falling like the deck of a ship. "After my little nap,” and her voice acquired an edge to it, “I’m sure about things a lot less than I used to be. But I do know that if Rose wakes up before we can find her? Whatever she does, happens as a consequence of your decision."

Connie's mouth was a line as she considered and rejected a number of responses, still off-balance from the sharp turn the conversation had taken. Finally something came to the fore, though a corner of Connie cautioned that it might not be the best thing to say. Connie ignored that voice, challenging back with, "Kind of like my mother’s decision to only shatter Pink Diamond?"

"Touché." Bismuth gave a laugh that was anything but mirthful. "Maybe I'm hung up on unfinished _Bismuth_ and hassling the wrong Citrine." Her demeanor became steely once more. "Or maybe I see you starting to make the same mistakes she did." Another shrug, the gem suddenly casual once more. "We’ll know soon enough."

The two stared at one another for several long seconds. Then Connie asked with Jasper-like reticence, “Yeah.”

Finally, expression brightening, Bismuth said, "Anyway, neat idea for Green. I'll come and get you gals and Meatball tonight so you can see the McFly. You all can make sure it’s up to spec, then we can figure out how we want to give it to her." She gave Connie a wave that was chipper enough then turned back to her work.

Feeling a little numb and a lot unsure, Connie walked to the warp pad and vanished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did promise a shorter update following Thanksgiving and this was it: a comparatively calm bridge between the end of Ch5 and the _Power Testing: Metallokinesis_ omake. However, things will be picking back up next Wednesday, December 11th, with the next exciting installment of _Shattered Dreams!_
> 
> Also, I am pleased to share a trio of new pieces of fan art!
> 
> The first is a coloring of our alternative ideas for Lapis' forms by Moondragon. The middle one, Moondragon said, worked for Peridot too, hence the coloration. I particularly like the fade to gold on Lapis' hair in the right one, and the corruption marks were a great touch on the left one as well. Thanks, Moondragon!  

> 
> The next is by [Darkspirit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkspirit/pseuds/Darkspirit) (a.k.a. Tusquets on the CS Discord), and is a matching of the main CS characters with kindred Pokémon.  

> 
> And lastly there's this doodle by ecobaruuuuu entitled, _Connie Swap Jojo Reference:_  

> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	7. All the Queen's Horses and all the Queen's Gems

In the end it took nine days. Nine days for P2 to finish reconstructing Pink Diamond as best she could from the seventy-five percent of her shattered remains that were still on Earth.

Connie and Steven were on the couch, splayed out, half across the cushions and half across one another, a fluffy blanket shared between them while Connie read a library book and Steven read through a _Fantastic Four_ trade paperback. Wolf was flopped on the floor beside them (there being no practical way to fit boy, girl, and hound all on the couch at the same time), receiving idle noggin and haunch scratches from Connie and Steven, respectively.

Jasper, meanwhile, was up in the loft rewatching the _Lord of the Rings_ trilogy. She and Steven had had their grand _The Two Towers_ and _The Return of the King_ viewing party days ago, which meant the Quartz was now free to rewatch Tolkien on her own schedule.

At least the gem was patient enough to wait until Connie was up for the day before claiming the loft.

Then Connie's phone chimed.

_* LaLa - 01:45pm | yo concon. need wolf pickup_

Lapis was at her mother's Archive watching while P2 worked on reassembling Pink Diamond's shards. The Archive had been chosen in part because it was so utterly remote, being in a bunker built into the side of an Andean mountain. A consequence was that there was no real way to communicate with the outside world once you were there since mountain tops weren't known for their cell phone coverage or WiFi access. However, Mom had built some satellite dish-shaped device which she installed at the Archive and that was how Lapis was able to call Connie now.

Connie frowned at her phone, glancing once more at the time.

_* CoMa - 01:46pm | This is early. Jasper's shift to watch P2 isn't supposed to start until 4._

As the girl noticed swells of orchestral music from the loft, she added:

_* CoMa - 01:46pm | She's watching the trilogy again. You know she gets grumpy if that gets interrupted early._

She'd just started to set her phone down and reach for her book when there was another chime.

_* LaLa - 01:47pm | well shes just gonna have to be grumpy because its return of the queen time_

A beat and then Connie clicked to the meaning, the girl typing hurriedly:

_* CoMa - 01:47pm | P2 finished?!_ （ ﾟДﾟ） _Pink Diamond is back?!_

_* LaLa - 01:47pm | yup. pink is in a bubble. p2 says shes ready to reform._  
_* LaLa - 01:48pm | and p2 is running in circles more than usual so i think this is legit_

"Guys!" exclaimed Connie, bolting upright.

Her boyfriend, her pet, and her fellow Quartz looked over, up, and down at her, respectively. The sounds of Middle Earth went on pause.

"Lapis says P2 is done!" Connie's attention was split between typing a return message and attempting to detangle herself from the fluffy blanket wrapped around her lower body. "Pink Diamond has been reassembled!"

_* CoMa - 01:48pm | Sending Wolf now. I'll get the others. Meet you at the quarry ASAP._  
_* CoMa - 01:49pm |_ ε=ε=ε=''⌐(ಠ_ಠ)¬''' 

* * *

Hearing the news, Mom had gone ahead, hopping on the McFly 2.0 and soaring away while nets made of woven metal cable --bulging with gear and held aloft with magic-- levitated after her.

It was a really cool power and one Connie was still getting used to. Judging from her boyfriend's awed expression and Jasper's thoughtful one, she wasn't the only one.

The three of them warped over to the warp pad near the barn and started to walk for the quarry which was not too far away. With Jasper in the front acting as a living snow plow (it was December in Delmarva, after all), they made good time. Still, they were the last to arrive.

Bismuth waved as they made their way down the stony ramp into the quarry itself. 

The smith was standing near a large, boxy metal vehicle that was part drill, part bulldozer, and part service elevator. Front and back ended in drills while there were tank treads on all four sides of the 'body'. This was so that it could travel horizontally over the ground or vertically up and down the shaft the original drill had bored down to the Cluster. The borehole wasn't a giant open pit like Connie had originally envisioned, but was rather a roughly circular shaft, miles long and filled with loose rock. After all, the stone the drill had tunneled through hadn't magically vanished like this was _Minecraft_.

Wolf, Lapis, and P2 were standing in the center of the quarry, though 'standing' was a misnomer since Lapis was hovering just off the ground and P2 was bouncing from foot to foot in excitement. A single, blue bubble bobbed just over her shoulder.

Mom was darting around onboard the McFly while assorted technology hovered into place. Some Connie recognized as scanners, others were holographic projectors (to display visual aids to help their presentation to Pink Diamond go well), and the rest were blasters (in case the presentation did _NOT_ go well).

P2, when she wasn't doing a kind of anxious happy dance, was openly gawking at Mom's metallokinesis in action. The only reason rebuilding Pink Diamond hadn't taken ten days or longer was because Mom had promised (with Hexadot-levels of self-satisfaction) to share her power testing data with P2 after Pink Diamond had been negotiated with.

Steven waved back at the smith (and P2... and Lapis... and Mom... and Wolf), though that was complicated by the fact that his arm was caught in the sleeve of the winter coat he was midway through removing.

The quarry, once you descended into it, was unseasonably warm. The water of the partially submerged portion of it was probably warm enough to swim in, all the ice and snow that would have formed melted by the surroundings. It was like you were standing in a natural hot springs even though Mom assured her there was no geothermal activity present. However, the quarry had been home to Umbra for decades and even though the shadow monster was now slumbering on Mask Island, her former abode retained her unnatural warmth.

When they'd first started using the abandoned quarry, Mom and Connie had made thorough examinations of those who came and went to make absolutely sure they weren't getting subtly afflicted by any of Umbra's lingering influence. Everyone had come out clean so it looked like it really was just an unusually warm rock pit, hence why Steven and Connie were doffing their winter layers during their descent.

"[Ready?]" signed Steven after strapping the lotus-decorated buckler to his arm.

Willing a force field onto the shield, Connie signed back, "[As I'll ever be,]" the girl eyeing the blue bubble warily. The fate of the world might literally rest on how well (or poorly) the next hour went, which was more than pressure enough to give Connie whatever the heroic-equivalent of performance anxiety was called.

P2 bound over, limb enhancers flailing. "A good Earth greeting to you!" she said at her usually high levels of cheer and volume.

Connie and Steven exchanged looks, the former saying, "A good... what?"

The mottled gem moved her limb enhancers some more, her floating fingers waggling randomly. "You and my former captive were exchanging quaint Earth greetings via flailing your limbs," observed P2 with complete confidence and sincerity. "It's not uncommon for ideolects like that to arise among gems stationed on backwater colonies." Then, before either Connie or Steven could offer a correction, P2 pulled first Steven and then Connie into a surprise hug. "Thank you for exposing me to pastries, ice cream, and Pink Diamond's simulated self-history. I have transferred the reports concerning all three to long-term storage so that I can treasure them long into the future."

Then, like a rubber ball bouncing off the Destiny Partners to go strike Jasper with hyperkinetic affability, P2 was bounding away, limb enhancers flailing. "Hi Jasper. I am greeting you in your local fashion. Thank you for inadvertently sharing the story of your betrayal of Pink Diamond!"

"Did- Why-" Connie shook her head, unslinging her pack so she could stuff her winter clothes therein. "What was that?"

Steven walked over, helping to hold her pack open for her. "I think P2 was trying to be nice, but it really felt like she was saying goodbye."

"Well that's not ominous at all," grumbled the girl, zipping up her bulging backpack.

"Maybe she's going to build a ship and leave after this?" hazarded Steven, unslinging his cheeseburger backpack so that Connie could help him stow his winter wear as well.

"Maybe," answered Connie, helping while watching P2 try and fail to hug the Quartz, a strong, orange palm resting on her mottled forehead so that the trunk of Jasper's body was out of reach.

A shadow crossed overhead and then Mom drifted down nearby, the gem spryly dismounting from the McFly before it hovered up behind her. "Hello dear," and Connie felt the myriad metal of her worn and carried belongings press lightly against her and then relax: she’d just received a gentle, metallokinetic hug from her mom.

Connie smiled warmly back.

Mom grinned then turned and greeted, "Hello Steven."

The scouter he had fished out of his pack floated up and deftly slid into place over his eye. He grinned. "Thanks Miss Peridot," and he tapped a button on its side, toggling it into standby mode.

Mom nodded then addressed the both of them. "Preparations are complete. Bismuth assures me that her vehicle is ready to convey us to the Cluster's maturation hollow if and when we are prepared to venture coreward. As such, I see no reason to delay further."

There was an implicit question of 'Do you?' which Connie and Steven answered with their silence.

Heaving a small sigh while the McFly and several metal tools orbited lazily over her head, Mom said, "Very well. Steven, please call the others over and we will-" Another pause and Connie could tell she wasn't the only one feeling the weight of the moment on her. "-And we will release Pink Diamond from bubble stasis."

Steven nodded, tapping the button on the scouter's side to activate broadcast mode. "Hey everyone," he said, sounding as though he were standing right beside Connie instead of a few feet back.

It was clear the others heard him as well, with the distant P2 gabbling in response, the words unheard by Connie but they made Steven chuckle and roll his eyes. "It was a birthday present," he answered back. A pause and then, "I'll explain what that is later, P2, because Miss Peridot wants everyone to come over so we can let Pink Diamond out."

Once everyone was spread out in a loose horseshoe around the bubble, Mom said, "Lapis? Since it is your bubble, would you like to do the honors?"

Lapis shook her head. "Heck no. You don't live long in the Blue Court without learning to stay as far away from the Diamonds as you can get. I say we let P2 pop it open."

"Eagerly!" exclaimed the technician, already approaching the bubble at the group’s center. "And I wish to add that it has been a fascinating time working in proximity to you all."

One of her limb enhancers reconfigured as she walked closer. A tiny yellow spark of destabilizer energy dissolved the bubble.

The pink, slightly irregular shape of three-fourths of Pink Diamond glowed, then rose into the air while P2 backpedaled to a respectful distance away, a giggle of manic excitement the only sound in the quarry. A white silhouette emerged showing... most of a person. Then it wavered and flickered, light flowing into the missing areas only for other parts to vanish as a result.

It reminded Connie of one of those sliding puzzles, or of trying in vain to get a sheet to fit her bed after it had shrunk in the wash.

Finally the light pulsed, a form stretching and twisting out to awkward proportions, the impression given of something pulled to the very cusp of ripping. The light flickered, grew brighter, and then...

...Pink Diamond stood before them: alive, disfigured, incomplete.

Several in the line flinched, drew a sharp breath, or fell back a step. P2, however, was seemingly unperturbed, offering a crisp Diamond salute and bowing. "Pink Diamond," she said reverently. "Peridot Facet-2B2Y Cut-5XG repor-"

"Aaah! Aaah? Rraaa!" roared the Diamond, lashing out at P2 with her sole arm. The mottled technician was yanked back as if pulled by invisible ropes, a cry of surprise and alarm accompanying her inexplicable retreat.

It wasn't until Connie noticed Mom gesturing, her expression focused, that she realized P2 had been yanked out of harm's way by metallokinetically-gripped limb enhancers. The mottled gem was pulled back and then stumbled when she was dropped to Connie's left, her gravity connectors once more touching ground.

Pink Diamond gave another roar, her fist striking the quarry floor with a tremor and a sharp _crack_ sound, a spray of rock fragments splintering off as the limestone cracked and buckled. "What-t-t have you done t-t-to me?!" her stutter less like a speech impediment and more like a glitching audio file.

Everyone started to fan out, the standard maneuver when facing a large, hostile gem monster. P2 was the exception, simply standing where she was, getting her bearings. Raising her floating fingers to the sides of her mouth, the gem said in an amplified voice, "Your exquisite Diamondness, it is common for gems to experience discomfort when they have been reassembled. Especially when not all shards were present."

"Reas-s-ssembled? You-" Her form wavered as Pink Diamond's gaze fell to the incomplete gemstone at her navel. She clutched at it with her sole hand. "I was-s-s shat-t-ttered. I am shat-t-ttered! You des-s-stroyed me and then you brought-t-t me back?!" she hissed incredulously.

A baleful eye roved over P2, then to Steven and the lotus shield he was holding. Connie's gemstone was glowing as she withdrew her sword from it when Pink Diamond's scornful gaze landed on her and stayed.

"We're not here to clash with you. Rather, we hope-" started Mom but she was cut off when a growl of pain and wrath rose in Pink Diamond's throat. 

The reassembled matriarch lunged forward. It was like a trick of perspective was happening, her form looming larger then it should have even when you accounted for her closing in. An enormous Pink Diamond crashed in front of them, larger than life and her features contorted in rage as she shouted, "T-t-torment! I will s-s-suffer no more!"

Steven and Connie moved in careful formation as they went to flank P2 and pull the non-combatant back from the front line. Which made it surprising when P2 shouldered the two of them aside and actually ran _toward_ the enraged gem.

"Exalted Diamond," shouted P2. "You are surrounded by Crystal Gem rebels but I am a loyal servant of the empire. I expected you would be moved to violence in the face of renegades and abominations. Destroy them if that is your will, but please spare me and my Quartz bodyguard. We will accompany you and aid you when you depart this doomed planet to return to the other Diamonds on Homeworld."

For a second it looked like Pink Diamond was going to pulverize the green annoyance in front of her. Connie was thinking furiously what she could do to rescue P2 --throw her sword at Pink Diamond, summon intervening fields while Mom pulled another metallokinetic save-- but then the pained pink matriarch paused, her expression taken aback.

"You expect-t-ted me to shat-t-tter them and ret-t-turn t-t-to Homeworld?"

Arms still in salute, P2 nodded. "Yes. My Diamond, the flawless Yellow Diamond, would not tolerate the presence of renegades and she would want to return to her duties alongside the other Diamonds once she had dealt with them. I assumed you would behave accordingly."

Pink Diamond sat up, though through a trick of perspective she actually seemed much smaller, barely taller than Jasper. "I have oft-t-ten found it-t-t bes-s-st t-t-to cons-s-sider what-t-t my s-s-sisters would do in a given s-s-situation s-s-so that-t-t I could do anything els-s-se instead." She looked up and surveyed the rebels surrounding her. "We will s-s-speak, though be quick and t-t-to the point-t-t: I had lit-t-ttle enough patience for my shat-t-tterer and her followers-s-s before I was-s-s ret-t-turned in this-s-s agonizing form."

P2 seemed completely thrown by that response, her diamond salute slowly drooping until she was standing there, arms limp at her sides, mind and expectations thoroughly blown.

Bismuth took a single step toward the Diamond when there was a flash of pink and the limestone in front of her was pulverized as if struck by a titan's maul. Pink Diamond hadn't moved or even been looking in the gem's direction, but she said, "And if you bring that-t-t weapon clos-s-ser t-t-to me, I will des-s-stroy you ut-t-tterly."

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with her Destiny Partner, Connie was able to (barely) overhear from Steven's scouter Lapis mutter, "It's scary schist like that which is why I like to keep at least a planet between me and a Diamond."

Addressing the group at large, Pink Diamond said, "Why have you brought-t-t me back? And why is-s-s this-s-s planet-t-t doomed? Is-s-s that-t-t figurat-t-tive language for the defeat-t-t of the Rebellion at my s-s-sisters' hands-s-s or has-s-s the war for Earth s-s-somehow gone even more wrong?"

Steven was the one to answer, his words broadcast to everyone clearly. "Hi Pink Diamond." He gave a nervous wave with his shield-free hand. "The other Diamonds took all the shattered gems from the war and put them together into a big ball and put that deep underground. It's called the Cluster and it's going to wake up soon. When it does it'll destroy the Earth." A beat and then he added, "We really don't want that to happen. That's why we let P2 put you back together, in case you could help us stop that."

Another trick of perspective happened and Pink Diamond seemed to loom larger. She looked down at P2. "Is-s-s this-s-s t-t-true?"

P2 nodded. "Yes, exalted Diamond. I was sent to this colony by my Diamond to ensure the Cluster would form soon. Which it will in a terrestrial month or two unless somehow delayed or stopped."

"Why was-s-s that-t-t creat-t-ted?" asked a visibly pained Pink Diamond. "Is-s-s Yellow Diamond's-s-s only way t-t-to defeat-t-t the Rebellion t-t-to des-s-stroy the colony beneath their feet-t-t?"

"The war is over, actually," answered Connie. A thousand childhood fantasies had her boldly standing before the Diamonds, sword upraised, and denouncing them as tyrants. This situation, however, couldn't be further from her younger self's daydreams so she just couldn't muster the righteous indignation for a heroic declaration. "My mother won the war so the Diamonds- Um, the other Diamonds, that is, unleashed the corruption song on the Earth before they left. We thought that was it but we found out recently that they also left a sleeping gem-horror growing in the planet's mantle." A beat and she said, "They were really upset about you getting shattered."

"Of cours-s-se.” Her head shook, single eye closed. “I can think of no more ins-s-sulting a way t-t-to be memorialized than t-t-to have the Earth des-s-stroyed in my name." Pink Diamond's sole eye opened and glared at Connie, partially in anger, partially in curiosity. "I know that-t-t gems-s-stone. I know that-t-t s-s-sword. C-C-Citrine? Were you reas-s-ssembled as-s-s well? You don't-t-t look like yours-s-self."

Jasper jogged into view, her face hard. She stood in front and a little to the side of Connie. "That is Connie. She is the daughter of Citrine and a human, Doug Maheswaran. She has Citrine's gemstone. Some of her powers are like Citrine's. Others are unique. She isn't her mother. Citrine is gone."

"Jas-s-sper," acknowledged Pink Diamond, her voice icy.

"Pink Diamond," responded the Quartz, voice soft but she carried herself like she was primed for a fight.

"Was-s-s she worth it-t-t?" asked the matriarch in a quiet but acerbic tone and Connie didn't think they were talking about her anymore.

"Yes," answered Jasper immediately. Then several long seconds passed and the Quartz added, "But not in the way I wanted."

"Good," answered Pink Diamond in a tone of pure, spiteful schadenfreude. Then she blinked (winked?) and her expression drifted off, trailing upward.

Connie began to wonder if this _Franken-Diamond_ was alright mentally when she noticed the airliner that Pink Diamond had been staring at. _Oh, right. That must look really odd to her._

The pink gem's gaze swept over the quarry, lingering on a few rusting pieces of long-abandoned equipment from back when this had been a working quarry decades ago. She looked at Steven and Connie anew, or more specifically their clothes. Then she glanced down where an old, partially-crushed soda can was visible among the gravel underfoot. "How long have I been shat-t-ttered?"

Mom hovered into view, the gem giving Pink Diamond's airspace a wide berth as she moved around aboard the McFly. "Approximately four millennia." A holographic projector lit up, a little washed out in the bright daylight, but the illustrated timeline it depicted was still visible. "Quite a few events have transpired since you entered bubble stasis."

With a hiss of pain, Pink Diamond rose to her feet. She seemed no taller, though, another perspective shift causing Connie's eyes to insist simultaneously that Pink Diamond was farther away while not having moved.

Several of the people present squinted, shook their heads, or, in Wolf's case, snorted dismissively, proof that it wasn't just Connie who was seeing it.

"S-s-so much t-t-time," muttered the comparatively diminutive Diamond.

"I know what you mean," grumbled Bismuth, still standing near the limestone crater Pink Diamond had blasted via her warning shot.

Ignoring the smith, eye still fixed on Connie and her mom, Pink Diamond commanded, "T-t-tell me more."

P2, meanwhile, had been edging ever closer to the shattered matriarch. Then the mottled gem struck a surreptitious pose, two fingers raised in a ‘V’ while she smiled broadly. A floating finger hovered out and snapped a picture of the two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The model of reassembled Pink Diamond (or FrankenDiamond, as we've been calling her internally), as well as the in-chapter art were drawn by NeonJohn. 
> 
> Speaking of NeonJohn, he's also drawn a pair of pics I wanted to share. Does it still count as fan art when he's on the creative team? I guess this just makes it _art._ Whatever the case, check 'em out!
> 
> This first one is of Connie facing off against Umbra. It's meant to be similar to what went down in Ep8 only here Connie already has her signature sword. I like how it looks with the more realistic style:  

> 
> This second one is showing some Jaspearl in progress. :D  

> 
> I also wanted to share something neat that came up in the CS Discord recently: using art from the CS Tumblr, the ever-excellent AudibleEllipsis has made Peripoints for the other three core members of the CGs. I now present to you the Conniepoint, Jaspoint, Lapoint, and, for completeness sake, the original Peripoint as well:  
  
  
  

> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	8. Diamond-Hard Truths

Mom gave her presentation. Pink Diamond needed her to repeat certain parts. No one said it, but the collective realization was that, yes, being a Franken-Diamond meant she sometimes got distracted or confused. Given the occasional pained hiss, the 'discomfort' P2 had mentioned probably wasn't helping either.

Still, Pink Diamond asked penetrating questions and gave insightful responses so whatever else had happened, her intellect was certainly intact.

P2 joined in when Mom began to discuss Era-2 and the resource shortages that had so transformed the empire following the costly war on Earth. Since their audience was a _Diamond_, both P2 and Mom managed to keep from trying to one-up the other or dominate the presentation. They actually, in Connie's opinion, made pretty great co-lectures once they got into a good rhythm.

At one point a giant watery hand started to emerge from the flooded portion of the quarry, Lapis cheekily 'raising her hand' to ask a question. However, a pink explosion turned it into a cloud of warm mist and that was the straw that broke the back of Lapis' resolve. While the others made it clear she had just been asking a question and not preparing to attack, Lapis gave a brief apology to Connie and Peridot before 'going to Brave Sir Robin the heck out of here' with a final offer that they should call her if they needed 'victory donuts or a couple great lakes dropped on the quarry.'

Jasper and Bismuth added details about the course of the war itself, though it fell to Jasper to talk about how it ended. 

At Pink Diamond's insistence Mom and Wolf made a quick trip to and from the Burning Room, returning with one of the many corrupted Rubies bubbled during the mission to the borehole. The bubbled gem was released and allowed to reform, the dog-like corruption ambling about the damp quarry happily, following a seemingly random path as it went... until Pink Diamond called to it. Then it stopped --tripping over itself in the process-- and grew very agitated, hopping about and running in circles.

Whether that meant it was a Homeworld-loyalist Ruby excited to see its Diamond or a rebel Ruby angry to see its oppressor, Connie couldn't tell.

Pink Diamond reached out with her hand, a warm, pink glow suffusing it, and she caressed the Ruby. Bathed in rose-colored light, the Ruby shifted into a form halfway between the dog-like corruption and the Ruby Connie had seen the one time Garnet had split in front of her. It was kind of a like a miniature werewolf but with an almost cube-shaped afro which Connie had seen on no depiction of a lycanthrope before. Ever. Anywhere.

The Ruby growled and yipped, not noticeably more cogent than before, and in a few minutes it reverted back to its previous, quadrupedal shape.

Even after the Ruby had been poofed, bubbled, and teleported back, Connie was still thinking of what she'd seen, the sort of dogged confusion she usually associated with trying to solve a particularly complicated math problem or mystery novel. Such ruminations were put on hold, however, when her Mom said with audible pride, "-though that's a subject Connie herself has relevant, first hand experience with."

Discreetly signing to Steven, Connie learned she was being asked to talk about how she'd tried to cure corruption. Thanking her Destiny Partner for the assist, Connie elaborated to the matriarch, mentioning her time with Jasper, Lapis, and Biggs. She made sure to give credit to Steven and his family for making anti-corruption tracks out of the corruption audio the gems had retrieved from the Ziggurat.

That led to a brief digression about Onyx and her Pearls which left Pink Diamond looking simultaneously saddened and proud.

A thought came to Connie, one particular puzzle piece snapping into place.

Mom was in the middle of a presentation about how modern-day Earth represented a blending of gem and organic civilizations, demonstrating novel strategies and synergies. With Steven as her co-presenter, they talked about many things: Ronaldo's network helping the Crystal Gems find and respond to threats; Mom reiterated Connie's point about how the Universe's had been able to not only listen to the corruption audio when no one else could but had created an auditory counteragent from it; Steven talked about how much he enjoyed being a member of the Crystal Gems despite being all human; he spoke about how much all the gems he knew enjoyed Earth stuff like food and movies and comics and roller coasters and _Lutes and Loot_.

It was when her mom was in the middle of sharing her ideas about Era-3 materials and how they could revolutionize life on both Earth and Homeworld when Connie butted in, asking, "Pink Diamond? I have a question about your powers. Or, um, really about my mother's powers as they relate to yours."

The gem’s monocular glare was still unsettling even when it wasn't blazing with anger. "S-s-speak."

"I know from... sources-" because talking about how she and Jasper had taken a walking tour through Pink Diamond's descent to despair seemed like a bad idea, "that you designed Citrine and Rose Quartz to have complementary powers. Offense and defense. Harming and healing. Mind and body, that sort of thing."

"Yes-s-s."

"Were, um, were their powers based on yours?" she asked. It wasn't the direct question she was thinking, but she was worried how that question would be received. This, though, would help confirm whether or not that puzzle piece from earlier actually fit.

"They were, at-t-t leas-s-st in conc-c-cept," answered Pink Diamond. "Mine are great-t-ter in s-s-some res-s-spects: C-C-Citrine never pos-s-sssessed my raw des-s-structive power, nor could Rose's-s-s healing mend t-t-technology as-s-s well as-s-s my own." She gave a dark chuckle and a frown, "Though neither she or I could res-s-store shat-t-ttered gems-s-s," and she gestured with clear irony to her own damaged and incomplete gemstone. "I want-t-ted to make t-t-two gems-s-s who t-t-together were nearly the equal t-t-to a Diamond s-s-so it-t-t made s-s-sense t-t-to us-s-se mys-s-self as-s-s a model. It-t-t's undeniable that-t-t I was-s-s s-s-ssuccessful, though I have come t-t-to view that-t-t vict-t-tory as-s-s Pyrrhic at-t-t bes-s-st."

Mom looked at her questioningly but Connie only ducked her head and backed away. "Thank you. Sorry for interrupting."

It was at the conclusion of Mom's presentation on Era-3 that Pink Diamond said, "Thank you. T-T-Truly fas-s-scinating. In another t-t-time I would have-" Her words were cut off by a pained hiss as she winced, her body twisting while making a sound like stretched rope. After several seconds passed, the weary gem shook her head and said, "Leave. All of you except-t-t you."

Everyone followed Pink Diamond's gaze to where P2 was standing. "Me?" asked the surprised gem.

Jasper's eyes narrowed while Bismuth was openly frowning. It was Mom, however, who vocalized everyone’s concerns. "Pink Diamond. You've been patient and receptive thus far, and we appreciate that, but until we better know your intentions we can't-"

"LEAVE!" shouted the pained pink giant, a trick of perspective making her loom as large as Umbra ever had. A cluster of pink explosions detonated against swaths of the quarry walls, rock and dust falling while Steven sheltered Connie from the ejecta under the widened field on his shield.

Panting, with more rope stretching noises, Pink Diamond shook her head. "I- This-s-s form is-s-s painful. It-t-t's hard to ignore when it-t-t feels-s-s like agony it-t-tself is radiat-t-ting out from my gems-s-stone. Go far enough t-t-to watch but-t-t not-t-t t-t-to hear. Peridot-t-t Facet-t-t-2B2Y Cut-5XG and I will have a t-t-talk in confidenc-c-ce-" her sole eye sweeping over the assembled rebels while pink energy crackled in her clenched fist, "-by court-t-tesy or by forc-c-ce."

Connie, Steven, Jasper, Mom, and Bismuth exchanged looks, each eventually nodding in agreement. All of them plus Wolf started to head for the ramping path leading up and out of the quarry.

"We're going to eavesdrop on them with my scouter, right?" asked Steven in a hushed voice.

"Oh, totally," answered Connie, nodding vigorously.

Wolf barked his agreement, then nosed each of the teens so the ascent could feature more noggin scratches.

* * *

P2 was having a very good day. It was also a very strange day... which was also good. It was also deeply confusing in places. That wasn't _as_ good.

Attempting to reconcile one Diamond criticizing another was proving... difficult for P2. Perhaps Pink Diamond had been speaking in metaphor and the deeper meanings eluded P2's understanding? Or perhaps it was an elaborate test of loyalty, a subtle means of discerning the radical from the orthodox. A matter to consider more when the situation allowed.

The others were partly up to the entrance to the quarry. The rebel Peridot opted to fly directly up aboard her McFly 2.0. P2 had no idea what the 1.0 version had been but she was practically bursting with excitement to study it and every single other object, report, and iota of data relating to the metallokinetic display.

At one point in the days prior, P2 had attempted to nap while stationed within Citrine's laboratory on the advice of Lapis Lazuli, her escort at the time. She had experienced a most enjoyable hallucination about possessing similar metallokinetic powers and using them to levitate up high enough to receive a hug from her Diamond.

The sun glinted off Steven's shield-mounted force field. P2 blinked, pulled from her recollection. They were nearly to the top now so she and Pink Diamond should begin their conversation soon. Steven's ear-mounted gemtech should allow him to listen to their conversation, however Pink Diamond --or the triumphant forced fusion of herself that she was now-- should know this already from observational clues so P2 chose not to belabor the obvious.

The Diamonds were in charge precisely because they were superior. The entire empire was founded on that principle, forming an unbroken chain from the lofty Diamonds all the way down to the lowest Ruby. Allowances were made for specialization --a Quartz was the superior choice for combat situations compared to a Peridot. The reverse was true when complex technology needed to be operated-- but on the whole it was elegant and so intuitively obvious it made the Rebellion's rejection of the principle more than a little confounding.

Though P2 could hardly fault them for choosing such a wonderful planet to be ostracized on.

P2 gave a crisp salute and bowed her head respectfully. "Pink Diamond?" she asked.

It was true Pink Diamond's form was incomplete and lacking its original aesthetic appeal, but that she had been returned to cogency at all was a triumph to both her own superior Diamond gemetics and P2's brilliance. The marred but magnificent being looked first to the rise then down to P2.

"I want-t-ted t-t-to t-t-talk t-t-to you before event-t-ts moved forward." Her form, not perfectly calibrated without all the shards and so morphic in response to the level of her emotions, shrank slightly.

"About your plan to shatter the rebels and escape to Homeworld before the Cluster's emergence?" P2 prompted, attempting to be helpful. There was a startled movement from atop the rise: apparently Lapis Lazuli had been coaxed into rejoining the others and had nearly taken flight yet again. That and Steven stifling some exclamation by clapping hands over his mouth, but P2 ignored it. Instead she added, "Oh, and so you know, august Diamond, I am beholden to a truce with the rebels so I would be unable to help you with the violence unless they violate the truce first or my Diamond orders me to ignore it. The rebel Peridot was very careful in her wording of the truce, though she failed to recognize the obvious result of my labor: that once you were reassembled you would seek to destroy them."

Pink Diamond looked almost bemused. It was such a strange look to see on a Diamond's face that P2 had to smile at the sight of it.

"And what-t-t do you think I am doing, lis-s-stening t-t-to them recount-t-t the las-s-st four thous-s-sand years-s-s of his-s-story and offer their plans-s-s for a new future for Earth and beyond?" asked Pink Diamond gently. It was in a similar (though superior) voice that Yellow Diamond had praised P2 in her nap-induced hallucination, actually.

"I was confused at first," admitted P2. She wasn't really stating fault when she said that to a Diamond; that a gem like her wasn't able to keep pace with such a dizzying intellect was a given. "I had originally expected you to assault them the moment you recognized their rebellious affiliation. However, I did eventually realize that you were biding time so you could gather information. Perhaps lull them into a false sense of security as well. My Quartz escort enjoyed playing a similar game with some of the Zoo-bound humans, though her ambushes involved tickles rather than carnage."

There was that look again. P2 had once imagined that the Diamonds wore permanent expressions of regal calm (with the occasional show of mild disapproval). That they chose to use others as well was such an interesting sight to see. Even though this wasn't _her_ Diamond, just being in the presence of a Diamond made P2's form feel light and tingly.

"I'm going t-t-to help them," stated Pink Diamond. "I'm going t-t-to allow my shards-s-s t-t-to be us-s-sed as-s-s a des-s-sperate ingredient-t-t t-t-to fores-s-stall the mis-s-sdirected wrath of my s-s-sisters and s-s-save the Earth from-" She shook her head, single eye closed in emotional rather than physical pain, "-needles-s-ss des-s-struction."

P2 was confused. Deeply confused. Why would she- All gems were capable of dereliction and defection: the follies of Era-1 had proven that. All gems except, of course, the Diamonds. So why… 

The mottled technician glanced over and noticed the figures on the rise facing them and understanding dawned. _Yes, of course. She knows they are listening in. The ruse continues._ It was masterfully done. Why, even P2, a loyal member of the Yellow Court, was nearly convinced.

P2, her back turned to the rebels who could hear but not, as far as she was aware, clearly see them, gave an exaggerated wink and said, "Yes. I understand." Another wink. Then another, though that was because a piece of pastry crumb had fallen into her eye.

While her nap had been extremely pleasant, falling asleep atop a pile of cinnamon rolls had proven unwise. She had removed all traces of sticky frosting from her form, but tracking down all of the crumbs hiding in her stylish yellow hair was trickier. _But the cinnamon rolls had been so warm and fluffy!_ They had seemed like the ideal pillow and Lapis Lazuli had enthusiastically agreed when P2 suggested as much.

Pink Diamond sighed and shook her head, the deception continuing. She looked thoughtful for a moment, her form growing taller as she did. Then she turned her gaze back to P2. "I'm going t-t-to explain why that-t-t's my choic-c-ce." She leaned in close after that and said with a conspiratorial smile that made P2's form jolt with unadulterated excitement, "And then I'm going us-s-se on you a very s-s-special power that-t-t only Diamonds-s-s have. The pers-s-son affected by that-t-t power will unders-s-stand _exactly_ what-t-t the other pers-s-son means-s-s: no tricks-s-s or fals-s-sehoods or met-t-taphor will penetrat-t-te."

P2's eyes lit up with delight. What an amazing power! She had no idea such a thing existed. It must be so helpful in making sure lesser beings understood their orders clearly. "And this power?" she asked, nearly vibrating with excitement. "It will bypass, say, the technologically-assisted eavesdropping of others?"

There was another stifled cry of surprise from Steven in the distance. Pink Diamond, meanwhile, managed to feign a perfect look of surprise, acting _exactly_ as if she hadn't known the rebels were doing precisely that all along. Seeing such a masterful performance in action was a wonder to behold.

With a modest headshake, Pink Diamond turned back to P2, smiling again. She winked. Or blinked; admittedly, with her current form it was difficult to tell. "Yes-s-s. Even then," though she did spare a quick glance toward the rise, several of the rebels flinching as she did.

Back to P2 once more, Pink Diamond said, "The Earth is-s-s s-s-special, rare in a way no other planet-t-t yet-t-t dis-s-scovered is-s-s. I planned t-t-to use it-t-t t-t-to make s-s-something great-t-t but-t-t my plans-s-s were shat-t-ttered. And if the Earth were going t-t-to end from a cos-s-smic accident-t-t or the folly of mankind or the poor s-s-stewardship of the Rebellion, I would laugh and leave it-t-t t-t-to it-t-ts fate. What-t-t do my shards-s-s owe this-s-s world for all it-t-t has-s-s cos-s-st me?"

She sighed, her form shrinking as she did. "However, the Earth is-s-s on the cus-s-sp of des-s-struction _becaus-s-se_ of my ambitions-s-s. My s-s-sisters, in their mis-s-sdirected grief, have perpet-t-tuated an at-t-trocity beyond ready comprehens-s-sion for the s-s-sole purpos-s-se of s-s-seeing this-s-s planet-t-t removed. I realized long ago that-t-t I would never t-t-truly be able t-t-to es-s-scape my s-s-sisters. It-t-t's why I chos-s-se t-t-to embrac-c-ce my role as-s-s a Diamond rather than at-t-ttempt s-s-something dramat-t-tic t-t-to rid mys-s-self of it-t-t. As-s-s my dear S-S-Spinel onc-c-ce joked: if you're locked in a box and can't-t-t get-t-t out-t-t, you might-t-t as-s-s well make yours-s-self comfort-t-table. S-S-So the fact-t-t that-t-t I will be lit-t-terally becoming part of my s-s-sisters' mis-s-sdeeds s-s-seems darkly poet-t-tic. And more than that-t-t, it-t-t is-s-s what-t-t the Earth des-s-serves: it-t-t is s-s-special and it-t-t never as-s-sked for gemkind t-t-to colonize it-t-t. If nothing els-s-se s-s-survives our foibles, let-t-t it-t-t be the Earth."

That was quite the stirring speech. P2 was moved by it even knowing it was partially or fully fabricated. Had Pink Diamond conveyed that via her power, why, P2 had _no idea_ how she would have reacted. Probably assumed she had been cracked or otherwise betrayed by the rebels and activated her emergency measures, broadcasting her warning to her Diamond from the suborned Communication Hub.

Pink Diamond gave P2 a sad smile. Then she raised her hand up, pink energy coursing across it, and she said, "I am now invoking my s-s-special power. Ready?"

P2 nodded vigorously enough she nearly unseated her visor from her face.

Pink Diamond lowered her hand, lightly tapping P2 on the nose. A rush washed over and through P2. Her hair fluffed up, a small shower of pastry crumbs flying out. She felt energized and all of the damage to her limb enhancers was mended. This power of denotative meaning felt very similar to Rose Quartz' healing tears, now that she thought about it. Or rather, it did that _in addition_. Truly, the Diamonds were every bit as superior as she knew and more.

A couple seconds passed and then Pink Diamond looked at her meaningfully. With a frisson of excitement, P2 smiled up at her. She was ready.

Pink Diamond's gemstone-fragments flared with light and she touched herself on the nose as well. Suddenly all of her features were corrected: her limbs, untwisted, her missing eye and arm, restored. Her gemstone remained incomplete and the energy expense for correcting her projection must be _immense_, but in this moment Pink Diamond was whole.

"There is room to improve the empire," said Pink Diamond softly, her stutter conspicuous for its absence. "Even Diamonds aren't all-knowing, and we can't be everywhere, so someone has to be the one to tell us when some important new fact or discovery arises. Sometimes important facts look to others like wrong or even dangerous things. These other gems will feel it is their duty to quash such things because they think that they are helping the empire by doing so. Which is why it requires a gem of rare and exceptional loyalty to ensure, _no matter what,_ that the Diamonds learn of such facts."

Pink Diamond looked at P2 searchingly and P2, giddy and what was transpiring, nodded to make it clear she was hearing her loud and clear.

Pink Diamond continued. "The rebels of Earth are in possession of some of those facts. These facts are _very_ important. The Cluster destroying the Earth would keep Homeworld from learning of these facts. The Diamonds thinking they should fight a second war to sterilize or destroy the Earth would keep Homeworld from learning of these facts. Which is why I am giving you this mission, a mission only a gem of peerless dedication and loyalty to the empire, could be trusted to carry out."

P2 found herself tearing up. Fantasies of fame and accolades were a delight, hallucinations of Diamond hugs were splendid, but this was actual Diamond recognition and it was entirely beyond her comparatively tiny, Era-2 frame to contain. She wept joyful tears even as she forced every iota of her form to focus on Pink Diamond's words.

"Help the rebels protect the Earth from destruction, regardless of whether that destruction comes from within or from without. Make sure that the rebels are able to speak with at least one of the Diamonds like they have with me today. Make sure that my sisters know what I have done and that I personally gave you this very important mission. And even if Yellow Diamond commands you to stand down, know that you are serving her more truly by carrying on because even your Diamond isn't all-knowing. After you have succeeded in your mission then she will know, she will know and she will thank you for your service and dedication."

This was a flicker, subtle at first, then more dramatic as Pink Diamond's form reverted to the twisted, incomplete thing it had been before. The flare of her gemstone dimmed and the Diamond was briefly translucent, her energy so drained that her projection was downgraded from hard light to soft light. She hissed and flinched with pain, the toll for her power use coming due. She dropped to one knee, her form shrinking to sub-Jasper size, her sole eye closed as she rode out the agony as her form tried to restabilize once more.

Shaking, overcome with emotion, and sobbing with a joy and gratitude too large for her to process, P2 nodded. She nodded and then she sprang forward, pulling the once-more solid Pink Diamond into a hug. "I heard you. _Really_ heard you. I'll do it, I swear. For Yellow Diamond. And you. I'll do it. Thank you," she sobbed. "Thank you."

A single, twisted arm reached around her and hugged her back.

* * *

Steven finished reciting the last of P2's words for the sake of the group. He'd been unable to keep the emotion out of his voice, sympathetic moisture twinkling at the corners of his eyes. And Connie suspected he wasn't conveying even a tenth of the emotion of what he was overhearing.

Mom made a distressed noise and Lapis was looking visibly ill.

Bismuth gave a low whistle. "I don't think I've ever used a tool half as well as Pink Diamond is using Spots down there." There was begrudging pride in her voice.

"Yellow Diamond will shatter P2 before she can accomplish even a fraction of this supposed 'mission,'" said Mom in a wavering voice, the scare quotes around 'mission' clearly audible.

"Diamonds don't really have a power like that, do they?" asked Connie. She knew the answer, she was _practically_ certain, but she had to ask.

Jasper shook her head. "No. I was with Pink Diamond enough to know. There were times she would have used it. Even if it was painful. Even if it poofed her after. There were times it was that important she be heard and obeyed."

"So... P2 is a rebel now?" asked Steven as he wiped his eyes, his voice still unsteady. "A rebel because she's so super-duper not a rebel that she'll rebel because a Diamond told her to?"

"This," said Lapis, finally speaking, "is why you stay the hell away from the Diamonds. They don't even have to use mega-powers or super-strength to dominate you; if they do, that's just because they didn't feel like getting creative. This one's apparently on our side and I'm still so scared a napping kitten could look at me funny and I'd be halfway to the horizon."

Down below P2 broke from the embrace and waved, floating fingers fanning out to exaggerate the effect. They then swarmed into a pair of arrows pointing downward.

"She says we can come back down now," relayed Steven. "That Pink Diamond is ready to take the trip down to the Cluster now." There was a beat of silence and then, “But this is still a good thing, right? Even if Pink Diamond is tricking her, she’s a rebel now. She’s going to help us save the Earth and negotiate peace with the other Diamonds. That’s better than her feeling like she has to betray us or something… Right?”

Connie nodded. “Steven’s right. P2 is a member of our cause even if she may not be an explicit member of our organization. If she does anything that Pink Diamond is asking for, she’ll be making sacrifices for the good of the Earth. I think we should accept her. Congratulate her.”

“Stars know we could use the help,” muttered Bismuth. Then, a grin spreading across her face, she said, “Come on, let’s go give Spots a proper rebel welcome! And if later she decides all this kissing up to the elites is a waste of time, well, that’d be swell too. I always knew that one had potential!” the smith clearly warming up to the idea.

Everyone started to move for the ramp down save Lapis. “Yeah, we should do that. And by 'we' I mean you all because I'm taking my blue patoot to Korea. I'm pretty sure there aren't any Diamonds in Korea. And if I'm wrong, you'll hear. I won't even have to use the phone."

* * *

After what would go down in history as the longest, and (for Connie, at least) most awkward elevator ride, ever, they reached the Cluster.

Because the Cluster's maturation was endothermic, the space beyond wasn't an oven fueled by crushing pressure and proximity to the molten core of the planet. Instead it was merely hot. However, the atmosphere was an odd mix of assorted gases (e.g. neon, argon, carbon dioxide) and not at all breathable. Mom had handed out breathing masks to Connie and Steven. Wolf had been content to wait on the surface.

The elevator's doors hadn't opened yet, with Mom and P2 double- and triple-checking the sensor readings of outside first. Which was why, when Pink Diamond's form rippled and she made a pained hiss, Steven was able to lift his face mask up to speak with her.

"If this works out for you like it did for Samwise, you might not feel so bad after," he offered.

Pink Diamond, cramped despite the high ceiling, looked down at Steven confused. In the opposite corner, Jasper looked suddenly awkward. The shattered matriarch cocked her head to the side and said, "How do you mean? And who do you mean? I don't-t-t know a S-S-Samwise."

Steven smiled. "There's a game me, Connie, Jasper, and some of our friends are playing in. And Jasper's character, Samwise Éowyn, got broken and then put back together but some of her was missing and other parts had to be used instead. It took her awhile to figure out how to be her new self but she's back and she's awesome and she even knows kung fu now!" exclaimed the teen.

Pink Diamond and Jasper both exchanged looks and then glanced away. Connie, however, gasped, staring into the distance. This _was_ eerily similar to how Peedee had handled bringing Jasper's _Lutes and Loot_ character back from being petrified and shattered. Ronaldo had a strange knack for being halfway right about things even if it was for the wrong reasons... but was that trick confined to just the one Fryman brother?

Now that she thought about it, that Goddess of Thorns boss seemed kind of familiar...

"Final sensor analysis complete. Ready to proceed," // "No obvious threats. Let's go!" said Mom and exclaimed P2 over one another as they stepped away from the data feed.

Connie and Steven got their breathing masks in place, signed confirmation to one another, then gave Mom a thumbs up.

The large elevator doors slid open, the view out partially framed by the tank treads running the length of that side of the vehicle. There was a gust of hot wind that ran through the elevator interior, ruffling the hair of everyone within as inside and outside normalized. And beyond all that Connie saw...

Once upon a time, Sour Cream had loaned Steven a Super Nintendo with, among other games, _Chrono Trigger_. In that game a giant parasite from space, Lavos, crashed to Earth and siphoned energy from deep within the planet until it had matured into its final form. Connie and Steven had played the game together, taking turns with the controller. Ever since the true nature of the Cluster had been revealed, Connie had been envisioning it like the big, spiky, ball-like initial form of the video game monster.

She had expected the Cluster to look similar, though more crystalline and colorful in appearance. What she saw didn't exactly contradict that, but in _Chrono Trigger_, the monster towered building-sized over the heroes. What Connie saw was a _landscape_ of crystal, an expanse so vast they weren't dealing with a monster but a geological feature, a being so large it had a _horizon._

Connie swallowed and felt very relieved that they weren't really trying to beat the Cluster so much as convince it not to fight them in the first place.

"This-s-s is-s-s..." started Pink Diamond, visibly shaken by the scene before them.

"Impressive? Tantalizing? Ground-breaking?" offered P2 chipperly, rocking on her gravity connectors.

Pink Diamond only shook her head and declined to say more, a trick of perspective making her seem to shrink.

"It's a reminder that too many of the wrong gems got shattered," muttered Bismuth darkly, one hand at the Breaking Point on her hip. Expression humorless, gaze burning with the fires of revolutionary outrage, Bismuth said to Pink Diamond without looking away from the crystalline landscape beyond, "Maybe tossing some sister confetti into the mix will help balance things out. How do you feel about a family reunion?"

For a long second no one, not even P2, said anything. Finally, Mom cut through the awkward silence. "Whenever you're ready, dear," she prompted.

Shaking her head, Connie blinked and said something too muffled to be heard beyond her mask. Instead she gave a thumbs up, then turned and signed to Steven who signed back his readiness in response. Reaching out with that indescribable sense of hers, Connie turned insubstantial, the breathing mask falling from her face though Steven was ready to catch it.

Jasper, P2, Mom, Bismuth, and Steven's 'scapes were all visible. Pink Diamond's was visible as well, but it was strange. For starters, it was incredibly bright, a spotlight in a room of lanterns. Secondly, Connie's view of it was distorted, like she was looking at the 'scape through a warped glass. However, as fascinating as Pink Diamond's mental landscape looked, even it was dwarfed by the sight of the Cluster.

There were a million points of light, each no brighter than a firefly but so numerous that it formed an ocean of light. It was as if the world were a stage with the house lights dimmed so that a _galaxy's_-worth of stars could shine and twirl onstage.

It was breathtaking (not that Connie was breathing at the moment). It was also _way_ beyond Connie's ability to influence.

They'd wanted to check before integrating Pink Diamond, just in case Connie would be able to help the matriarch in her efforts, but influencing the Cluster would be like trying to recolor a beach by hand-painting one grain of sand at a time.

Finally wresting herself away from the almost dizzying panoply that filled her mind's eye, Connie focused on the world in front of her and signed to Steven. Forty-five seconds later the warmth and sensations of the world returned and Steven was quick to help Connie slip her mask in place while she held her breath.

"Your assessment, dear?" asked Mom, a touch of nervousness in her voice.

Pulling a notepad and pencil out of her pocket, Connie jotted down, 'The Cluster is **BIG;**' --the word written in thick, capital letters and underlined twice-- 'too much for me to meaningfully affect.'

Mom looked at the note and nodded with an understanding frown. "Understood. Thank you for checking, dear." Then she gave P2 a nod --"You may proceed."-- the mottled technician smiling broadly in response.

A broad platform, really just a rectangular sheet of metal, detached from the side of the elevator, hovered into place by Mom. She then levitated herself, P2, and Bismuth aboard it over the surface of the impossibly vast forced fusion below. Something too technical for anyone else to follow was agreed upon and the three returned to the elevator.

As the platform approached, P2 hopped excitedly into the room ahead of Bismuth and Peridot. She ran up to Pink Diamond. "We'll need to destabilize you for the next part!"

Body briefly making that 'tightening rope' noise, Pink Diamond wordlessly nodded her agreement, her mouth a pained line.

P2's limb enhancer reconfigured into a destabilizer, crackling with yellow energy. Pink Diamond endured the jab with dignity but her form barely wavered, the destabilized part of her reappearing almost immediately after. P2 tried two more times before Pink Diamond's warning growl vetoed a third attempt. It turns out that Diamonds not only didn't poof easily, but were really resistant to destabilizers.

"I could help," offered Bismuth, unlatching the weapon on her hip.

The warning glow of crackling pink energy was answer enough.

Fortunately Mom was able to deescalate things by recalling how she poofed Malachite via Connie-overloaded destabilizer. Ten minutes of tinkering later, components and tools floating into position while Mom, P2, and Bismuth worked in a tight huddle, an oversized capacitor being constructed and attached to P2's limb enhancers.

"Thank you again," said Steven to Pink Diamond as he helped Connie take off her power sink. "Speaking as a human, I really appreciate what you're doing for us. Same for all the animals and plants. Oh, and all the gems on Earth too." Connie handed the device to her boyfriend and echoed the sentiment to the shattered matriarch.

The towering gem managed a half smile, the look of resignation she'd been wearing since climbing into the elevator remaining but there was a flicker of something happier there. Something proud. "It-t-t is-s-s..." She paused. "You're welcome," she amended, adding a simple nod to the statement.

Power sink removed and hair frizzing out prodigiously, Connie powered herself up and fed energy into the device for three minutes straight, all while avoiding Pink Diamond's gaze. Finally P2 jabbed, there was a blinding flash of yellow, a puff of pink smoke exploded outward, and a semi-reconstructed gemstone was caught in a green tractor beam.

Once more P2 and Mom exited via metallokinetically-hovering platform, this time Bismuth remaining within the elevator, the work about to take place being for Certified Kindergartners only. The doors were closed and the atmosphere cycled so that Connie and Steven could remove their breathing masks.

And then Jasper, Bismuth, Connie, and Steven waited, the four receiving periodic updates from Mom over the built-in speakers. Steven tried to strike up a conversation or two but no one really felt like talking. Integrating Pink Diamond took nearly an hour and a half, which simultaneously felt too long and too quick.

Finally Mom and P2 returned, the breathable atmosphere being cycled out and then back in during the process.

"It's done?" asked Bismuth.

Mom bobbed her head, looking somber, and P2 nodded vigorously, looking delighted while grinning ear-to-ear.

"What do we do now?" asked Steven.

"We wait," answered Jasper. "And watch."

"And hope fervently that this is successful," added Mom.

As they started to ascend, Connie went insubstantial once more and saw a brilliant beacon visible in an endless sea of smaller lights. Already Connie could see the motes moving, some drifting away from the beacon but many more wafting closer. It reminded Connie of pictures and videos she'd seen studying astronomy: where a great swirling cloud of dust and ice was slowly coalescing, a star in the process of being born as more and more mass was drawn toward a central point.

Still, no matter how bright, Pink Diamond's 'scape was but a point in a vast expanse. If someone or something emerged from this, Pink Diamond would only be a small part of a much, _much_ larger whole.

Then she felt the pull of a great many 'scapes extending beyond her power's reach and the sea of light vanished, Connie returned to the elevator and the comparatively small but precious mindscapes therein.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the team, P2! Sorta. Mostly. Either way, congratulations!  
  
_Hi! I'm glad to be here. Especially since I was promised cake. _All the cake._ I'll tell you when to stop passing me slices._ -P2
> 
> Moving onto another subject, Pink Diamond's powers. In Connie Swap, Rose Quartz was used as our baseline from which to design Citrine's powers, and by extension the powers Connie would eventually manifest. However, Connie Swap was written with the assumption that RQ =/= PD, an assumption which, given that the first chapter of Connie Swap went up 22 months before _A Single Pale Rose_ would air, was a defensible one for fans of the show to hold at the time.
> 
> A consequence of Rose not being a Diamond in disguise, combined with and Rose Quartz and Citrine being individually weaker than a Diamond in CS, meant the Diamonds of this AU got an implicit power boost. Which is why we see Pink Diamond tossing around pink energy blasts and the like. Though given recent revelations in _Steven Universe Future_, maybe that isn't too far off the mark either. Regardless, Lapis' fear of the Diamonds' is even more justifiable here than it is in canon.
> 
> This is also the answer to Connie's question back in Ep35 of why P2 didn't just run around the damaged handship interior with a squirt gun full of Rose's tears and have everything fixed in a trice: because CS!Rose Quartz' healing powers don't have quite the same oomph for technology as Pink Diamond's do. It was never something that came to the fore in Connie Swap, but in case you were ever wondering about that, or why Rose Quartz was insisting P2 bring warp pad-repairing supplies to Earth, now you know.
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	9. Earthshaking Developments

\--Two Weeks Later--

By this point, Mom had assembled a questionnaire meant to extract quantifiable data out of Connie's 'forming solar system' view of the Clusters' vista. During the long ride back to the surface, Connie sat down at a student's desk moved into the elevator for exactly this purpose.

Sometimes Connie and her mom rode down with others. Other times, like today, it was just the two of them. But they made the trip daily since Connie's Colored Perception power was one more source of data for a process on which the fate of the planet literally rested.

While Connie filled in her answers about the ever-coalescing 'scape she'd witnessed, she glanced up and asked, "Did you see another, uh, face out there today, Mom?"

The anticipation and anxiety of these trips had gradually ceded ground to routine and even boredom for Connie. But yesterday had possessed a major surprise when Mom, out surveying the Cluster from atop her floating platform, came rocketing back with only a moment's warning for Connie to go insubstantial before the doors flew open.

After the interior had cycled back to breathability, Connie had returned to tangibility and was scrambling to get the vial of healing tears she always carried with her out of her pack in case Mom had been injured. Instead she found Mom, unharmed but startled, pacing and rambling about a colossal face of light starting to rise up from the crystalline expanse. It had dissolved, vanishing back into the endless shard landscape and there had been no sign of it before or since, but it had unnerved mother and daughter enough that they cut their descent short that day.

Connie hadn't seen all that many scary movies in her life, but she'd seen enough to know not to stick around.

"No dear," answered Mom. "There are flickers, nebulous hard light forms coalescing only to immediately dissolve. It is not unlike witnessing weather patterns from orbit. But neither the drill's sensors or our direct observations have encountered anything like that since."

Connie nodded even though her mom wasn't looking at her just then and returned to her questionnaire. Once it was finished and she handed it over for analysis, she asked, "Is the Cluster's maturation slowing down?"

She'd been wanting to ask for days now, but she'd simultaneously been too nervous broach the subject directly.

Mom glanced over the questionnaire to ensure it was entirely filled in, then slid it into the satchel she had slung over one shoulder, levitating the pen (with metal casing) that Connie had been writing with off the desk and into the bag as well. Meeting the girl's eyes, she pursed her lips, a sure sign she was organizing her response.

"Yes and no," she answered after a tense minute. "Topographical scans suggest the Cluster's structural change is, if anything, accelerating since the integration." 'The integration' being shorthand for Pink Diamond being added into the Cluster's mass. "The meaning of that is currently unknown. However," she was quick to say, seeing the growing worry on her daughter's face, "the aforementioned 'weather patterns' have shifted drastically since the integration. Yesterday's anomaly notwithstanding, it appears that the Cluster is growing less energetic in projecting a hard light form. And as that is the truest danger the Cluster holds --gaining a form and violently emerging from the Earth's mantle-- I take this to be a very promising trend."

Connie considered this, the status of their ascent tracked on a display of the wall. They were only halfway to surfacing in the quarry. "Weakly-compelling evidence?" she hazarded.

A beat and then Mom nodded with visible reluctance. "Yes, only weakly-compelling at this point. We'll be able to estimate with more confidence as we accumulate more data."

Connie nodded. Then, needing to think about something else, anything else, really, she gestured to the beanbag chairs and small media center that had also been setup in the elevator, another set of additions to ease the tedium of the trip. "Wanna finish our rewatch of season three? I think we only have two episodes left."

Mom smiled. "Three, though only because the _CPH_ season three finale was split across two concatenated episodes."

They settled into place and finished the ride to the surface awash in the comfortable teen drama of Canadian camper antics. But more than that, it was a mom spending time with her daughter and vice versa, each seeking comfort from the other and providing it in turn.

* * *

Connie helped her Mom remove their things from the elevator. Then Mom helped Connie into her safety harness --a strap and velcro-covered vest on which a stout metal tether was attached-- and hooked it to the larger, passenger-friendly version of the McFly Bismuth and P2 had built for Mom recently. 

Those two had become friends surprisingly fast. Whenever there wasn't something Cluster-related demanding their attention, the two were usually back at Bismuth's forge working on a frenzy of weird and exuberant projects, the engineering-equivalent of two hyperactive kids trying to build the coolest tree house imaginable.

Stepping aboard, Connie gripped Mom's shoulders and the two were levitated up out of the quarry and over to the warp pad near the Universe family barn. Stepping clear of the device Steven had unofficially dubbed the 'Laki-Two Seater' --the name a joking _Mario Bros_ reference which everyone save Mom had warmed to-- Connie unhooked herself and removed her harness, passing it back to Mom as they each stepped onto the warp pad.

The late December Delmarva landscape vanished in a beam of light and moments later, they arrived in the Beach House where-

"Citrine!" yelled Amethyst from less than a foot from Connie's face.

"Gah!" yelped Connie, jumping back and not crashing into her mom only by the narrowest of margins.

Jasper, seated in her usual spot on the couch, _The Tale of the Hero and the Companion_ open in her lap, said, "She came by looking for you. Been here for about an hour."

"What do you-" Mom started to ask, looking annoyed on her daughter's behalf as she faced the purple Quartz.

Amethyst cut her off, however, when she rounded the warp pad and once more invaded Connie's personal space, asking, "You got the alpha to write messages, non?"

Blinking and retreating all the way back to the wall, Connie got her scattered thoughts in a semblance of order and nodded. "Yeah. When I tried to cure her corruption. It didn't help her form, but it helped her mind enough she could communicate using an alphabet board." Connie frowned. "It took a really long time for me to do that, though, and it didn't last after I had to stop."

Logically Connie should be proud about that experience: the whole thing marked the first advancement in centuries in trying to cure the corrupted. But emotionally, Connie was disappointed and annoyed that they'd come tantalizingly close to a cure, or at least a treatment, only to have hours of work come to naught minutes after.

"I want you to do it again," insisted Amethyst. "I've spent weeks with l'Alpha in that floaty place of yours and it's great but-" Visible eye pleading, Amethyst said, "I want to talk to her. Write to her. Whatever. She's always carrying that letter board with her but she almost never uses it and when she does-" A frustrated growl rose from the short Quartz. "-I can't la comprendre!"

"Well, okay, but Steven's family is doing a thing in Crossroads this evening-" answered Connie, pushing the agitated Amethyst back as she stepped clear from the corner she'd been backed into. "-And I just got back from a long elevator ride and..."

She stopped, reading the almost pained urgency on Amethyst's expression.

Shoulders slumping a little, the girl said, "Alright. Just let me get ready and text Steven real quick."

* * *

Connie brought a trio of portable MP3 players. They were each color-coded: purple, orange, and black to represent the anti-Yellow Diamond, anti-Blue Diamond, and anti-White Diamond corruption audio installed on them, respectively.

She also brought a gadget her Mom had made for her: a heavy rectangular block about the size of a loaf of bread covered with copper filigree patterns that were reminiscent of the ones on her power sink. Along one side were six electrical outlets and on top was a light. Whenever the light was glowing amber it meant that the device was inside Connie's power aura and converting a portion of said aura to electricity. When the light was green it meant the device was outside Connie's aura but was still able to supply battery power. When the light was red it meant the battery was nearly spent. It was a gemtech uninterruptible power supply configured to work with Connie's gemstone and it meant that the MP3 players plugged in would remain in operation for the length of Connie's 'scape surgery today, however long that took.

Suffused by the Sanctuary's calm, Connie had walked Amethyst through her role in this, namely turning on and off MP3 players when Connie signaled her and keeping an eye on Biggs. But most of all, Connie impressed upon the distractible Quartz that she had to pay attention and not break anything.

To Connie's surprise, Amethyst was completely focused and on-task throughout, taking her instructions with almost exaggerated seriousness. Whatever criticisms Connie could make about the Quartz, she couldn't knock the gem’s iron-clad dedication to those she considered her family.

With Biggs lounging on one of the pillows at the base of Citrine's statue (the alphabet chart she carried with her everywhere resting on her paws), with Amethyst standing attentively nearby, and with the light on the magical UPS glowing amber, they were ready to begin. 

Connie pulled out her phone, started the stopwatch app, pocketed it, and got to work.

First to test the null hypothesis. With a nod to Amethyst, Connie went insubstantial, the cold of the Sanctuary falling away as she zeroed in on Biggs' familiar 'scape. With her mind's eye, Connie saw vast plateaus of color stretched between canyons of emotion and everything looked simultaneously right and wrong. Everything was tinted light green: the yellow, blue, and white corruption effects overlaid atop one another. Furthermore, the mindscape's pattern was crisscrossed with seaweed-like tendrils, each a point where the normal function of Biggs' mind was being short-circuited, ensuring the world was a bewildering, unknowable place for the corrupted, earth tone Quartz.

Reaching out with her power, Connie cleaned away the corruption from a modest section of the vast fractal mosaic of Biggs' mind. Less than a second later the patch was tinged light green once more.

Right, null hypothesis rejected.

Allowing herself to become solid once more, Connie said, "Go ahead and start Track Black."

Amethyst punched the button on the appropriate MP3 player and weird-sounding noise filled the Sanctuary silence. It didn't sound like music. It didn't sound like anti-music. As far as Connie's ears were concerned, it was just... noise.

Transparent once more, Connie returned to Biggs' 'scape and cleaned a small section. The corruption returned dark green: yellow plus blue but no white.

The audio may sound like noise. It was anything but.

With a final thumbs up to Amethyst, Connie turned to the long, slow, exacting work of cleansing Biggs' mindscape.

Hours later Connie signaled to Amethyst, who turned on Track Purple and turned off Track Black. Then Connie started to cleanse the mindscape again, the dark green giving way to blue.

Hours later they changed the tracks a third time and Connie did it all again.

* * *

When Connie was insubstantial she didn't get hungry or tired or winded. She couldn't speak or hear or pick anything up. She could barely feel anything. She was made of light, not flesh, and light didn't have to worry about things like muscle fatigue.

However, when Connie was using her Colored Perception power for hours on end, a kind of pervasive exhaustion crept in. It was as though Connie's _gem_ was getting tired. It was different from being sleep-deprived or worn out, but it was no more pleasant.

Connie looked up from the vista before her. Amethyst, smiling through a look of concentration, was holding up the alphabet chart with one hand while two more hands held a notebook steady and a fourth hand wrote something down. In front of her was Biggs, the corrupted Quartz having stepped down from her pillow and who was now pawing at the alphabet chart one letter at a time while Amethyst transcribed.

It said something about Connie's life that a four-armed purple secretary taking dictation from a huge, mottled, earth tone bear-dog wasn't even the strangest thing Connie had seen _that day._

Sparing a moment to smile at Amethyst's obvious satisfaction, Connie heaved a silent, airless sigh and returned to Biggs' mindscape. All the corruption was gone but the corruption weeds --or C-weeds as Connie called them with tired humor-- remained. With intuitive understanding, Connie knew they were mixing up Biggs' mindscape like a circuit board that had been riddled with short circuits. They also released new corruption into the otherwise cleansed 'scape; it was slow but without Connie actively removing it, it'd mean Biggs' swift relapse.

And Connie couldn't get rid of the darn things!

Nothing in her magical repertoire seemed to affect C-weed! Maybe if she was willing to do to Biggs what she'd done to Rose --ripping the pattern of her 'scape like a sword slicing the fabric of a tapestry-- she could sever some of the C-weed. But that had been terrible for Connie, terrible for Rose, and not at all something she was prepared to inflict on Biggs.

Plus, given how exhausted her gemstone already was, it was an open question whether Connie could do it now even if she had wanted to.

Glowering at the C-weed-infested vista only she could see, something tickled at the back of Connie's mind. Relaxing her transparent facial muscles, Connie tried to let the thought bubble to the surface.

The memory of Pink Diamond partially restoring the corrupted Ruby's form filled Connie's mind. Then of Connie asking Pink Diamond if Citrine and Rose Quartz' powers were based off of hers, to which the fractured matriarch had offered a qualified yes. Citrine and Rose Quartz were designed to be two halves of a whole that was supposed to be very nearly the equal to a Diamond. Offense and defense. Mind and-

Connie ran over, still insubstantial, gesturing frantically at Amethyst and Biggs, each looking over at her with surprise. Connie mouthed something to Amethyst and pointed at her backpack resting against one wall.

Amethyst quirked her head to the side and said something Connie couldn't make out.

Connie summoned a trio of force fields, one large, two short, making a vertical yellow arrow pointing down at her pack.

Amethyst jogged over, picked it up, and jogged back, giving Connie a concerned and expectant look.

Connie had to spend a couple seconds clearing out the returning corruption in Biggs before she came back to see the corrupted Quartz waving a large paw at her. Once the earth tone corruption had her attention, Biggs pointed to her alphabet board.

_Oh! Oh. Duuuh..._ Facepalming didn't work when your insubstantial palm went right through your equally-insubstantial face, but that didn't stop Connie from trying. That done, Connie crouched down and gestured at the board.

V-I-A-L O-F H-E-A-L-I-N-G T-E-A-R-S

Amethyst opened the pack and rummaged through it, casually tossing everything that wasn't a pink vial over her shoulder, a small, disorderly heap of Connie's belongings piling up behind her. Then she found the vial of panacea, one of four that Pearl had gifted Connie before leaving. Ever since then, Connie and Steven each carried a vial with them whenever they went out on gem business. Mom did too in that satchel of hers, a precaution against serious injury to gemstone or human body. The last vial was kept in a secure location back at the temple.

Tossing the backpack behind her, Amethyst wagged the vial in front of Connie and mouthed, 'Now what?'

P-O-U-R O-N B-I-G-G-S

Connie was about to start spelling out 'But be careful and don't spill any' but stopped when Amethyst ripped the cork out and chucked the contents of the vial directly into Biggs' face.

If there was sound, Connie couldn't hear it. If there was heat or cold, Connie couldn't feel it. But the glow as Biggs' body grew indistinct and began to transform was very clear.

Hastily, Connie focused on Biggs' 'scape. Airlessly, she gasped. A pink glow was spreading across the gem's vista and wherever it went, the C-weed withered. It was as though the healing tears were an herbicide.

With a probing touch of her power, Connie prodded one of the desiccated, seaweed-like strands. It crumbled into nothing and vanished.

See-through eyes wide at a sight only she could see, Connie acted as fast as she could, finishing the work of demolishing the C-weed that littered the 'scape. She wasn't sure if the pink glow had killed the weeds already or if they'd recover after the effect wore off, but Connie had no intention of waiting to find out.

Some amount of time later Connie stared at a 'scape that was simultaneously familiar and new. Vast plateaus of color stretched between canyons of emotion and everything looked... right.

Wrenching her gaze away the vista, Connie actually paid attention to the world in front of her where-

-a joyous Amethyst was tackle-hugging a stocky gem with mottled earth tone skin and a pair of horns emerging through the top of her white hair.

Roughly seventy seconds later the sensations of the world returned and it was all Connie could do to collapse into a seated position, the gem-deep fatigue turning her legs noodly. Not ten feet away, Amethyst was rambling excitedly between joyous sobs and an unfamiliar voice, resonant but not loud, deep but not gravelly like Jasper's, answered back.

Connie fished her phone out of her pocket and stopped the stopwatch. Start to finish, curing Biggs had taken ten hours, fifty-three minutes, and seven seconds.

* * *

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Editor's Note: We don't have a model of post-corruption Biggs, but we do have these models of pre-corruption Biggs, who is very similar though absent the horns.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

With Amethyst clinging to her like a purple barnacle, Biggs walked to where the edge of the Sanctuary abutted the mountain supporting it. The mottled Quartz made a sweeping motion with one hand and stone flowed away like water running downhill until what was left was a plain bench carved into the mountainside.

Biggs sat down. Then, gently but insistently, she pried Amethyst off her and sat the overcooked Quartz down beside her. She smiled at her companion and said in her resonant but curiously soft voice, "You look familiar but I don't know why."

"Duuude! You're l'Alpha! We were packmates for seasons and seasons and seasons!" Amethyst had been vibrating with excitement, intermittently squealing with delight ever since Connie had entered a state where she could hear such things. The purple gem bounced in place and resumed doing so once more.

"Packmates? The pack. Why does that-" started Biggs. Then Amethyst flashed as she shapeshifted into a purple facsimile of a corrupted Quartz, the form Connie knew the gem had held while interacting with her pack. Biggs gasped in recognition. "You're Amethyst!"

At that, Amethyst tried to once more tackle-hug Biggs over but in an instant stone flowed around and behind Biggs' back and seat, bracing her so that she met the affectionate charge unwaveringly.

A full minute of joyous reunion continued until Connie cleared her throat. When the two Quartzes settled down, Biggs eyeing her curiously, Connie gave a sheepish wave. "Hi. I'm Connie. Do you remember me? Or Jasper? Or Lapis or any of the other Crystal Gems?"

Biggs frowned in thought, one hand reaching up to idly trace over one of the two horns atop her head. "Crystal Gems," she said as if sampling the word. "There's so many pictures in my head. It's like stones in an avalanche, though: I see them but they're hard to focus on." She squinted at Connie a moment longer, gaze falling to the yellow gemstone peeking out from the neckline of her winter jacket. "For some reason, looking at you makes me think of someone named Citrine. Why is that?" she asked, offering Connie a helpless but friendly smile.

"That's... a really long and complicated story," answered Connie. "Wait here with Amethyst-"

"Ma famille! Eeee!"

"-So I can get the others. Then we'll talk more," finished Connie.

With another gesture, the stone behind Biggs flowed, transforming into a molded throne-like impression that fit the gem comfortably. She nodded then turned to make something similar for Amethyst beside her.

Connie walked, then jogged, then ran up the stairs of the Sanctuary, moving with all speed for the warp pad home.

* * *

It had been two days since Biggs was cured. Everyone had been astonished, excited, and in several cases, moved to tears at the gem's restoration.

Reunions were made, questions asked and answered, scans taken, and after two days of nonstop rejoicing, Biggs had quietly asked if everyone would leave her alone for a little while. She'd then shaped a tall, deep cave into the Sanctuary mountside and retreated within.

According to Jasper, Biggs had always been among the more reserved Jaspers in the Rebellion.

Amethyst and P2 had gone off together into Beach City to ride whatever Funland rides hadn't been closed for the winter. Bismuth was tagging along/supervising since, other than Steven and Biggs herself, she was the only member of the group who didn't have a lifetime ban from the amusement park.

Wolf had returned from somewhere, presumably Mask Island, with splotches of black dotting his muzzle and padded in sleepily. With the couch taken, he had claimed Connie's bed and the faint susurrus of doggy snores was audible from the loft.

Mom gave a brief presentation revealing that other than the horns and a few other bestial remnants, there was no sign of corruption or irregularity to Biggs. Connie had, of course, given the gem frequent examinations over the last couple of days and confirmed she was corruption-free and at no risk of relapse. She didn't even have corruption marks like Jasper and Lapis, a hint at the differences in however Mom had cured those two versus Connie restoring Biggs.

The gem's intelligence was intact as near as Mom could test, as were her powers and all the information and skills she'd emerged knowing. She remembered some details from before her corruption as well as some details from during her corruption. However, these memories were apparently subsumed and difficult for her to recall on demand. It looked like details were gradually coming back to her, especially when someone or something reminded her of a subsumed memory. Between that and the fact that Biggs was able to form new memories just fine, Mom was confident that given sufficient time, Biggs would recover most or all of what she'd lost.

When pressed on what 'sufficient time' actually meant, though, Mom had only been able to shrug and mutter something about knowing too little to make an educated guess.

Connie bounced in her seat feeling ebullient in a way she really hadn't since the handship's arrival. Steven squeezed her hand and smiled brilliantly at her, happy and made happier by her happiness.

Turning back to her Mom, Connie asked eagerly, "Alright, so, who next? Obsidian maybe? Or do we want to ask Garnet who she'd pick as a gesture of goodwill?" She looked from face to face in the room excitedly.

Lapis opened her mouth and then closed it, looking to Mom. Mom grimaced. Jasper's expression was studiously, deliberately neutral.

Connie felt her enthusiasm cool, an icy curl of concern forming in her stomach. "We are going to heal more gems, right?" she pressed.

Mom nodded her head quickly at that. "Of course! No, dear, what you've accomplished is tremendous. It defies ready quantification for how wonderful it is."

"Super duper proud of ya, Con-con," added Lapis, grinning widely. "Soon as we finish making sure the Cluster is tucked in for a good, long, looong sleep, we're throwing the sort of party that causes the National Guard to mobilize and gets us noise complaints from Crossroads!"

Jasper gave an earnest smile and angled her head in agreement.

"But-" prompted Steven, voicing aloud what Connie was thinking.

Mom sighed. "However, until the Cluster is resolved and Rose Quartz has been defeated, there will be no more non-emergency expenditures of healing tears."

"What?!" exclaimed Connie in disbelief. "But- But this is _huge!_ You guys always talk about how amazing some of these gems were. Wouldn't having them back, helping us find Rose and fight her be worth it?"

Lapis shook her head, looking glum. "I get it, girlie, and believe me, I really wanna see those gals again. But Biggs isn't going to be able to help us fight Rose Quartz. She doesn't even remember who that is. Heck, she barely remembers who half of us are right now. And it's going to be, what? Months? Years before she's finished gathering up all the marbles she lost to corruption?"

"Possibly longer," said Mom. "We genuinely don't know yet."

"But it's still the right thing to do," insisted Steven. "Right?"

"Eventually, yes. Undeniably," agreed Mom, levitating a screwdriver over from across the room so she could fidget with it in her hands.

"If Connie gets killed, no one gets cured," said Jasper, finally weighing in. "Until the invasion is repulsed, we save the tears. She's too important." A beat. "You too," she added, looking at Steven.

Mom jumped in, elaborating on the Quartz’ point. "Each vial of healing tears represents another gem restored from corruption. But if the fight ahead of us brings unexpected calamity, each vial may represent one among us restored from the brink of shattering or death. It makes more prudent and utilitarian sense to preserve what vials we have until the situation on Earth becomes much less dangerous. Then and only then does prudence allow that we resume curing corrupted gems."

Connie didn't like it. It was as unwelcome as being woken up via a bucket of ice water. But... it made sense. She and Steven had already narrowly avoided injury (or worse) since the invasion’s start and who knew what was coming.

Well, besides Garnet, and even she could be wrong sometimes.

Unable to say the words, Connie nodded, tight-lipped and eyes stinging. It was the right thing to do but she swore, when this was all over, the corrupted gems on Earth would be her tip-top priority.

Mom gave her daughter a grateful smile. "However, as Lapis said, this is very much an occasion worthy of celebration. As soon as the others return, I suggest we-"

Just then there was the thud of feet landing on the deck, as well as the sound of heavy footsteps ascending the Beach House stairs. A glance showed P2 waving beyond the window while Owlmethyst was riding on her shoulder. The top of Bismuth's head started to be visible as she tromped up the steps.

"We have earned a lifetime ban!" exclaimed P2. "It is my understanding that this is a Crystal Gem rite of passage which I am pleased to say we completed in record time!"

With metallokinetic force, the doorknob turned and the door swung open, allowing the gems beyond to be more easily heard.

"For someone named Smiley, he sure frowns and shouts a lot," added Bismuth, visibly pleased with herself as she joined the other two on the porch.

"Avez-vous dinner plans?" asked Owlmethyst. "I want to try something good before I take Biggs on a trip up north tomorrow."

Everyone inside shared a look, then Connie managed to try a smile on for size. "Yeah. Just let me call my dad to see if he and Priyanka want to tag along too."

Steven was already on his feet, phone in hand, saying, "Hey Mom. Remember that place outside of Crossroads we tried last week? I was thinking of booking the party room there but wanted to make sure that'd be okay with you and Dad first. Oh, and we have to remember to bring some goodies back for Biggs too since it's kind of her party too even though she doesn't want to go places right now. I’m thinking a tiramisu to start: it’s just her color."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The in-chapter art of Amethyst tackle-hugging Biggs was drawn by NeonJohn. The models of pre-corruption Biggs were drawn by MjStudioArts.
> 
> In fact, those models of Biggs were drawn back in June of **2017**. Yes, we've been anticipating curing Biggs for a looong time now. A little detail I'm pleased with, by the way, is that in the show, the first gem Steven ever bubbles is Centipeetle. And later, the first gem Steven tries to experiment with curing is Centipeetle. She's even the first gem cured. Well, I wrote Biggs as Connie's first bubbled gem (Ep16), as well as the first she tried to cure (Ep33), and ultimately was the first cured here! It's a subtle parallel, but a deliberate one.
> 
> And, yes, Biggs is effectively an earthbender in this AU. While I don't think it's been stated explicitly, there have been a half-dozen or more references to Biggs that involved her forming tunnels or making rockslides. A Biggs Jasper was also the reason why the doom chicken (i.e. Pearl-Biggs Jasper forced fusion) from Ep33 could control rocks in addition to sand.
> 
> Also, **something awesome** I have to share with you all is a fan creation by some fantastic new readers. You may recall [the lullaby Peridot sang to Connie back in Ep4](https://soundcloud.com/officialconnieswapcrew/peridots-lullaby-ep4s1-daddys-little-girl). It was adorable... and plot-significant there and again in Ep8.
> 
> Well, Melody Snowflake, Alice Aktorka, and Hayliea have all worked together to put a cover of that song, complete with original vocals and art, [up on Youtube!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ3lQ0WVxKE) <-- (Click this link or click the pic; AO3 won't let me embed the actual video in a post-chapter section)  
[](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ3lQ0WVxKE)
> 
> Aaaah! It's so frickin' cute and sweet and it sounds so good! [inarticulate noises follow] Ahem, pardon me, I kind of lost my composure there for a minute.
> 
> Anyway, [Melody Snowflake's Youtube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyEmpupfXY3-YekGDJB9Wow) can be checked out here where, among other things, you can hear her sing more delightful covers. Alice Aktorka, responsible for the audio editing, has [a twitter page you can check out](https://twitter.com/AliceAktorka). And Hayliea, who drew that wonderful Mommadot fan art, [has a Youtube channel as well](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbf6esrtmAaUhQJLzjrGxNQ). Once more, the rest of the CS team and myself are pleased as can be to get this multimedia act of fandom and we thank the three of you for it. [squee!]
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	10. Pearl Epilogue

It had been winter in Beach City --a charming time involving pristine snow and tea-themed sweaters-- but here in the tropical redoubt Pearl had hidden in, it was warm, rainy, and not at all to her taste. While the ubiquitous insects didn't swarm gems like they did organics, it had been a Herculean task screening off the ancient pyramid lair she was sharing with her Rose.

Pearl was clearing a path through the jungle back to her temporary home, aromatic and pretty plantlife stored in her gem from her foraging so she could further beautify the dwelling. The sword she'd been gifted, a sword once made with Connie in mind, fit easily in her grip and Pearl smiled slightly at how natural it felt in her hand compared to the awkward uncertainty from when she'd first received it.

She was already looking forward to cleaning and polishing it after she returned home. She'd take care of the sword first, then follow up with a little tasteful flower arranging.

Stepping through the layers of nets, Pearl hummed to herself, memories and the call of tasks worth doing right buoying her onward. Which was why it was an embarrassingly long time before she noticed that the carefully arranged bed of blankets in one corner of the pyramid was empty.

"Rose?!" squawked Pearl, flustered, surprised, and filled with sudden self-reproach for being inattentive toward her owner.

Storing the sword in her gemstone, Pearl moved with indecorous hurry, calling into the jungle cacophony, "Rose? My Rose? Where are you?"

It had been almost precisely one month since Connie had agreed to ease Rose's suffering. Afraid of what havoc Rose would commit while the Crystal Gems had to deal with the existential threat of the Cluster, Connie had healed Rose just enough she would be incapacitated for five or more weeks, long enough for the situation to be dealt with... or for any threat posed by Rose to have been rendered redundant.

But here it was, four weeks later, and her Rose was very obviously awake.

Somewhere.

"Rooose!" called Pearl, worry twisting in her form.

In answer there was a leonine roar, a rustling sound of hundreds of trees being shaken, and then she saw a blur of pink shoot across the sky, only barely visible through the thick canopy.

"Rose!" Heedless of the intervening jungle, Pearl ran headlong after her wayward owner.

That roar belonged to the _other_ inhabitant of these ruins, a gem lurking here that her Rose had spotted in her magical scouting before she'd run afoul of Connie and been incapacitated.

There was a giggle, sonorous, melodious, and Pearl saw a blur of pink bounding _atop_ the canopy overhead. Her Rose had many talents including the ability to be feather-light or immovably-heavy on demand, and thus was able to dance from leaf to leaf while _Pearl had to clamber through a trackless and grasping jungle!_

"Rose!" shouted Pearl, now charging back the way she came in pursuit of the gem she served.

There was another roar, closer, the jungle thrashing in the wake of the power that accompanied it. However, there was no sign of Rose hurtling past so Pearl continued her inelegant approach.

Quite to her surprise, Pearl staggered into a clearing. The surrounding trees were stripped of leaves where they weren't collapsed entirely. The ground was a thick carpet of mulch, layers of foliage compacted down as if a colossal press had flattened them. And in the center of it was her Rose seated on the step-like side of an ancient human-built pyramid while a... creature lay sprawled across her lap.

"My Rose?" asked Pearl, unsure of what she was seeing.

"Shhh" said Rose, silencing Pearl. "You'll wake her," and she ran a hand through a white-grey mane.

Approaching as quietly as she could --the ground was spongy, a matted carpet of pulverized plantlife-- Pearl tried to take in the form draped across her Rose. The upper body was coated in lengths of fur, a mane but with thick hair emerging from the shoulders and back of the arms too. A pale, sleeping face was ringed with white-grey hair, almost as if being swallowed by it. The lower body, however, ended in a trunk-like tail covered with glistening scales.

"Who- What is that?" asked Pearl, thrown.

Rose smiled, continuing to soothe the figure napping on her. Catching a tear from her cheek, the pink gem held it out lightly with one finger, where it dripped down on the figure's tail. There was a flair of light and then the tail became long legs decorated with glittering scale patterns.

"This is Scolecite," answered Rose. Another tear started to run down her cheek but she caught it and rubbed it instead into the stone she was sitting on, cracks mending as millenia of weathering was partially reversed. "No more than that. Too much relief and she'll won't be willing to attack anyone."

Pearl wanted to ask what Rose meant by that but she recognized that what she _really_ wanted to learn was whether an attack was necessary at all. And she already knew the answer her Rose would give to that question. Instead, Pearl bowed deeply and said, "I am relieved to see you recovered, my Rose."

Rose's expression, if anything, darkened at that. "I am not. I still feel her touch, the damage she did to me. The fear-" Her voice caught and she shuddered. The Scolecite in her lap stirred and made a mewling sound. Rose caressed the bliss-drugged gem and made a soft shushing sound. Then, in a quieter but not gentle voice, she said, "My niece inflicted terror on me. Unending fear. I tried to run, with my powers if not with my form. But I know fear. I have known little else for millennia. It is a familiar pain and one I have returned to, one I will endure a little longer."

"A- A little longer?" asked Pearl, chiding herself for her poor diction.

"Yes," and Rose's expression was fearsome indeed. "Once I have molded Scolecite to be my creature, once I can rely on her, we will attack. No more misdirection. No more schemes. No more time for traitorous lieutenants to feign loyalty. I will take what I came here for and be rid of this planet. And I will end any who try to stand in my way."

Scolecite made another mewling sound, no words but the pleading in it was clear. Rose made a soft chiding sound though she continued to caress the gem's mane. "No more for you. Not yet. If you want more relief, my pet, you must earn it. You came here to hide, I can sense that much off of you. Who drove you here? Was it the Crystal Gems? Don't fret, Scolecite. We'll both have our revenge soon."

Pearl held herself very straight and said nothing, trying so hard to keep the turmoil in her form from appearing on her face. Her Rose was nothing if not empathetic, after all.

Without looking up, Rose said, "You did well, my clever Pearl, bringing us here like I told you. I knew that I could count on you; of any gem in this flawed universe, you alone I trust."

Pearl smiled and angled her head demurely, though rather than replacing the turmoil within her, the warmth of Rose's praise only made her feel overfull, affection and unease churning in her slight form. It was a profoundly discomforting experience.

"Now," continued Rose, still stroking the partially corrupted gem's form, "tell me what has transpired while I was weathering my niece's torments?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, hi Pyra. We haven't seen you since Ep22. I guess we now know where you've been hanging out since narrowly escaping Malachite. Though if you go back to the Rose Epilogue in Ep37 you'll see a sign of her, and Pearl dropped a few foreshadowing comments during her POV scenes in Ep38.
> 
> This brings us to the conclusion of _Shattered Dreams_. Given that next Wednesday is Christmas and the Wednesday after that is New Year's Day, Connie Swap's usual schedule is going out the chimney. Instead, Connie Swap will be returning Wednesday, January 15th for the start of **Ep40: Out With The Old**
>
>>   
  
No more waiting, no more distractions. Rose is on the warpath and she's bringing a very thorny end to the year and anyone who gets in her way.
> 
> Also in defiance of our usual schedule, there **are no** Connie Swap updates planned for the Wednesdays between now and January 1st. I'm going to see about working up a canon omake that falls between Ep39 and Ep40 to go up on January 8th, but I'm not making any promises. However, depending on how the holidays go, I might have some other goodies to share by the time we get back.
> 
> Thank you all for reading Connie Swap this year. I hope you've enjoyed the ride thus far and that you'll join us again mid-January for the big, explosive episode we've got planned next. Ooooh, it's gonna be _a ride!_ Bye y'all! Happy New Year!
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	11. P2 Has A Very Good Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? You thought Ep39 was over? Weeelll, it mostly is. However, P2 officially joined the team (if in a roundabout way) and that's something that demands screentime!
> 
> After Wolf joined we had _The Wolf Days of Summer_ there in Ep17, and after Bismuth joined we had our grand, spend-time-with-everyone bonanza that was Ep24: _Gems-ology, The Collection_. You'll note that both of those are part of the main fic and not chapters of the Omake Collection. That's because I don't want the inclusion of subsequent characters to fall to the wayside. No, that sort of thing needs to be out front where we can enjoy the emotional payoff and character beats.
> 
> Furthermore, Ep40 isn't the sort of episode that would accommodate a fun and fluffy opening chapter about P2 exploring the status quo. No, that episodes going to be a bit more... dramatic. So even though this does kind of clash with the foreboding tone Pearl's epilogue left off with, this spot is otherwise the best place for this chapter to live. And that's true chronologically as well as organizationally: Pearl's epilogue took place on the in-world date of Dec. 28th while this chapter begins on Dec. 29th.
> 
> Anyway, happy 2020, everyone. Let's get the year started off with P2 having a very good day. Enjoy!

It was pre-dawn, the horizon glowing dimly but the stars still bright overhead. P2 took a deep breath of the chill Earth air and exhaled, smiling. She recognized the twinkle of Homeworld's galaxy and she knew with gem-deep certainty that some day she'd return there and make everything better. For everyone.

Like Pink Diamond had told her to.

But until then, she might as well enjoy the perks of this splendid planet.

"Hi P2," said Sadie, the human bundled up heavily in insulating layers of wool and cloth. "You're here early." She dug through her pockets while Lars, her co-servitor at this establishment, muttered and stomped his feet for warmth. Finally retrieving the keys, she unlocked the door and held it open for P2.

Lars pushed past and walked in first.

P2 stepped inside the shop, the scent of sweets heady and welcome to the mottled gem. "Hello Sadie. Lars. I was eager to try more of your confections and so I made sure to arrive for when you opened up." She took another deep breath. Powdered sugar and glazing had a very different aroma to brisk morning air, but it was no less dear to P2, the grin already on her face widening a little further.

Sadie bobbed her head in acknowledgement while she busied herself around the shop, filling napkin holders, straightening stacks of cups, and wiping down any sticky counter tops that she'd missed when she'd closed up the night before. "Well, Lars and I will need a couple minutes to get the B.D. ready, but you're welcome to look around while we do."

Lars, meanwhile, shuffled into the back of the shop where an avian of some sort was chirping excitedly. "Yeah, yeah. Hang on to your feathers, Wilford," drawled the lanky human.

Sadie was loading trays of confections into the display counter up front, all while P2 watched with rapt attention. It was while P2 was contemplating between the assorted cream-filled options available that Sadie asked, "There’s, um, something I've been wondering about..." She trailed off.

P2 rose and smiled at the stocky clerk. "Yes?"

"Is P2 your actual name or is that, like, a nickname?" asked Sadie, looking a little uneasy. "It's just, you're the same kind of alien as Peridot, right? So them calling you P2 sounds like, I don't know, you being called 'Peridot Junior' or something. I wanted to make sure I wasn't repeating an unflattering nickname just because I'd overheard the other gems saying it."

"Plus, corporate called asking about all the inventory we're moving," came Lars' voice from the back of the shop, his words accented by eager chirping and the sound of birdseed being shaken into a feeder. "And Sadie gets a bonus if another one of you space foodies starts shopping here on the regular. But there's paperwork and she refuses to just make up a name like I told her t-HEY!"

With an exultant cheep, Wilford Birdley flew out of the back of the shop, apparently having escaped his enclosure. The avian made two circuits through the front of the store, chirping chipperly. Sadie called to him --"Here Wilfy!"-- and made little hopping grabs but to no avail, Wilford's figurative and literal flight continued until he was frozen in a beam of green light. P2 drew the escapee over, stroking his feathers until he visibly relaxed. She then disengaged her tractor beam and transferred him into Lars' outstretched palm.

"Thanks," grumbled the annoyed human, pacing back out of sight to properly secure the animal. "Ugh, you scattered seeds everywhere, you dumb bird."

Turning back to Sadie, P2 said happily, "My full designation is Peridot Facet-2B2Y Cut-5XG, though I like P2 and have chosen it as my name while here on Earth."

Sadie dispensed some receipt paper, scrambled for a pen, and frantically started jotting that down.

"The name P2 was chosen before I was cooperating with the rebels, their Peridot included, so I can assure you that it is neither an unsolicited nickname nor an unfortunate one," finished P2. "And I have decided on my order as well."

Shoving her scrawled notes aside, Sadie began loading up a box of donuts with swift efficiency as floating fingers guided the clerk from selection to selection. "That's good to know,” she said, her voice partially muffled by the counter as she grabbed a maple bar. “So is-" She blinked, thinking to the name she’d written down. "-5XG like your last name?"

Lars walked in from the back, swiped a donut from beneath the counter, sat on a stool, and started tapping away at his phone.

P2 angled her head to the side. "I don't follow," she said to the blonde clerk.

Sadie set the box of donuts on the counter. "Like, Connie's last name is Maheswaran and Steven's is Universe-"

"That is such a fake name," muttered Lars between bites of his donut.

"His parents are rockstars. They can call themselves whatever they want," Sadie snapped back. Then, to P2, she said, "We, uh, humans I mean, have last names."

"What about Prince?" quipped Lars without looking up from his phone. Sadie opened her mouth to retort when Lars added, "He was a rockstar. I heard they can call themselves whatever they want." He took another bite of his donut and wore a smug grin.

Sadie paused, unsure how to respond. Finally she gave a small shake of her head and said to P2, "With very few exceptions, humans have last names."

P2 considered this. Intrigued, she asked, "And are these last names informative in some way?" As Sadie rang her up, she added, "Also, I believe I have a better grasp of your exchange system. Peridot explained that for the bulk of human history, discs of precious metals were used as currency. I took the liberty of minting some coins of my own so that I can purchase items just like a normal human!" she exclaimed, dispensing from her limb enhancer a gold, quarter-sized coin. It had a picture of a smiling P2 on one side and a picture of the Earth on the other.

Lars pocketed his phone, mouth open as he picked up and gawked at the coin. "You have gold?!"

"Peridot keeps a supply of the element on hand since it is a useful component in certain electronics," explained P2. "Bismuth says it's too soft for her to want to work with it. Also, the low melting point can be a problem in her forge."

Sadie, much more composed, gently took the coin from Lars' hand and punched something into the cash register. "That's fine, P2. Lapis has come in here with sunken treasure enough times that corporate keeps an appraiser on retainer to deal with this sort of thing: she comes by on the 15th of each month. After taking out the cost of the donuts, I'll add the rest as a refund to your tab."

P2 nodded in response, pleased, then eagerly opened her box of donuts and snatched up the most enticing therein. She took a deep bite and closed her eyes in sugary bliss, chewing quickly so she could take another bite soon.

"Oh, and as for last names being informative: yeah, kinda," said Sadie after P2 had finished licking her floating fingers clean of all residual frosting. "When people hear I'm Sadie Miller then they can probably figure out that Barbara Miller is my mom."

With nearly a dozen donuts remaining, P2 had her peripherals generate a random number from one to eleven. Then, despite six being the result, she grabbed the next donut because it looked the tastiest.

A thought occurred to her as the donut was en route to her mouth and she paused. "Miller... I can tell that means 'one who operates a mill' but I'm unsure what a mill is."

Sadie had stooped to slide P2's coin through the slot of a safe-like box beneath the counter, the gold disc landing with a metallic ‘ding’ within. She rose and said, "A mill was used to grind up wheat so it could be used to bake stuff." She rubbed the back of her neck. "One of my ancestors probably ran a mill, which is how we got the name."

P2 took a bite and made a hum of approval, both at the food and the response. Swallowing, she said, "And today you distribute baked wheat as a profession! Yes, that is very informative."

Sadie blinked. "Huh. I never thought of it that way before."

Swallowing another bite, P2 said, "Barriga, meanwhile, means 'belly', which explains your tendency to eat freely of the merchandise."

"Ha! It does?!" exclaimed Sadie, looking at her co-servitor.

Lars slumped forward in his seat, frowning. "In Spanish. It's Filipino. Lots of Filipino names are Spanish. It's not a big deal," he grumbled. He was about to take a bite of his donut when he thought otherwise, tossing it in a waste bin.

P2 was about to add to the exchange when a silent alarm appeared across the inside of her visor. Disabling it with a glance, a trio of floating fingers gathered up her purchase as she bid the pair a good day and departed.

She'd consulted an almanac to determine when sunrise would be at her latitude in late December. Sitting on the edge of the boardwalk, thoroughly enjoying her selection of tasty treats, P2 watched day break over this part of the Earth. 

P2 took a deep breath of the chill air and exhaled, smiling.

* * *

After spending a luxuriously idle morning observing the sunrise, P2 spent a few hours studying reports and watching footage she'd recorded. The scenes from Pink Diamond's personal history were particularly fascinating, and P2 teared up each time she rewatched her face-to-face talk with said Diamond.

That Wolf had padded over and been willing to keep her company in exchange for side scratches was a pleasant addition as well. She still had no idea what precisely the beast was but neither did the Crystal Gems so P2 was content to simply enjoy the fuzzy companion's presence, mystery and all.

Rising to her gravity connectors, P2 bid Wolf farewell and traveled to her next stop on her itinerary for the day. A human with unruly yellow hair, vision enhancers, and a red shirt decorated with flame-like patterns stood in the Beach Citywalk Fries window. Consulting her list of Beach City humans --She'd previously had Steven describe them for her-- she determined he was either Peedee Fryman or Ronaldo Fryman. That 'Fryman' was another informative last name brought a chuckle to P2's lips, the gem pleased at this latest discovery.

The human looked surprised for a moment before realization dawned. "You're the innocent herald." He raised his phone and snapped a picture.

P2 paused, considering this with a smile. "I am? I wasn't aware."

"You wouldn't be," said the human --Ah, Ronaldo, given the name tag he wore-- shaking his head. "You help other polymorphic rock people connect the dots-" and he gestured at the dark green spots scattered over her form, "-without seeing them for yourself."

Filing this fascinating observation away for future contemplation, P2 said, "Steven highly recommended something called 'the bits' so I'd like one order of those as well as an order of extra spicy french fries."

Ronaldo nodded, then turned and called out her order into the recesses of the shop. A smaller human with similar hair --Peedee Fryman, by process of elimination-- emerged from a closet, a peeler in one hand and several strips of potato skins clinging to his forearms.

"Got it. Hey Stev- Oh! You're..." Peedee stood on his tiptoes and glanced past P2. "You're not him. Sorry, not a lot of people order the bits, and only Steven ever orders them before noon." Setting down his peeler on a nearby table, the smaller human went over to operate the friers.

"Extend my greetings to the fist-forger," said Ronaldo as he rang up the order.

"Who-"

"He means Bismuth," called out Peedee over the sizzle of hot oil.

"I will be sure to do that." P2 grinned and extended a limb enhancer. "Though I'm curious how you deduced that I was seeing her next."

"The innocent herald and the fist-forger are allies in the war for the hollow Earth," explained Ronaldo, adding in an insistent tone, "It's all on my blog." He printed out a receipt and offered it to P2. "I assumed you were going to prepare with her for the coming conflict after this."

From within the shop, Peedee called out, "Also, Bismuth is the only one who likes her fries extra spicy."

"That too," conceded Ronaldo.

A floating finger took the proffered receipt, another one taking the gold coin dispensed from her limb enhancer and wafting it over into the hand of the perplexed Ronaldo.

"In payment for the fries," she added when Ronaldo failed to respond.

"Uh, hey Peedee?" asked the larger human, turning so he could extend a hand out with the coin visible, smiling P2-face up.

Peedee stepped back from the friers, wiped the sweat from his brow, then took the coin. "Oh, yeah. It's fine, bro. Dad has an arrangement with this lady that comes by the Big Donut once a month to deal with stuff like this."

A little later a bag of fried potato fragments, the bits, as well as a heavily spiced basket of french fries were passed over to P2. Two floating fingers held the former while three conveyed the latter, leaving her with enough free to give a cheery wave goodbye.

Not yet willing to fly over to the nearest warp pad, P2 popped one of the bits into her mouth, crunching it with a contemplative look on her face. She swallowed and made a noise of approval. "Delicious," she remarked. Then, raising a limb enhancer up toward her mouth, she said, "Note to self: ask if the fry shop can substitute a cinnamon and sugar blend in place of salt."

* * *

Following the bestowal of her mission from Pink Diamond, the Crystal Gems had offered her the role of probationary member of the team. P2 had pointed out that she was not in fact a Crystal Gem, merely tasked by a Diamond to assist them for an unspecified length of time in the service delivering a greater good to Homeworld.

After a quick huddle, the others had instead offered her the role of probationary ally to the Crystal Gems which P2 heartily accepted. With this came broad (but not complete) access to the terrestrial warp network. This included Bismuth's forge, which was where she arrived after the warp conduit vanished.

She could hear the ring of hammer against anvil, which meant her friend Bismuth was present, a fact which pleased P2 quite a bit. Standing at the threshold to the forge interior, P2 used her limb enhancer to amplify her voice as she called in, "Hello Bismuth! It's P2! I brought you fries!"

It was possible the basket of fries wouldn't combust if brought into the forge, but P2 thought it wiser not to take the chance.

A moment later Bismuth strode out, all smiles. "Hey Spots!" She enthusiastically slapped P2 on the shoulder. "I'm glad you're here. I'm working on something that I think you're gonna like." She glanced down at the heavily powdered fries and said, "Oh, extra spicy! Just the way I like them. Thanks!"

She took the basket and started to help herself to the contents, clearly pleased with the flavor.

Rocking on her gravity connectors, P2 asked excitedly, "What is this new project of yours?"

Bismuth swallowed, rubbing red powder on the front of her outfit as she wiped her hand. "Remember when we were in that quarry and you got yanked out of the way of an angry Pink Diamond by Green?"

P2 nodded. "Yes. She used her metallokinesis to move me clear, though I assert that Pink Diamond's display of aggression was more a show of intimidation than an overt threat to a loyal gem like myself."

"Riiight," drawled Bismuth, grabbing another handful of spicy fries. "Anyway, I got to thinking and what if we weaponized that?" she asked, then crammed the food in her mouth.

"You mean by having Peridot hurl metallic projectiles?" P2 looked perplexed. "Because we already considered that. Fabricating several prototypes was one of the first of our joint projects."

Another swallow and another layer of red powder on the front of her outfit, then Bismuth replied, "I'm not talking about bombs. I'm saying, what if the projectile-" She grinned ear-to-ear. "-Was me?"

"You?!"

"Yeah! I'm great in a scrap but I'm not exactly a ranged combatant."

P2's mouth fell open as she envisioned the concept. "And with the metallic armor you wear, Peridot could launch you across the battlefield!"

"Exactly! Make me the munition," and Bismuth looked oh-so pleased with the idea. "Anyway, we did all these tests on Green's new power so we know what metals she can manipulate best. Sure, she can toss me around with what I've got on already-" and the metal rang when she flicked it with a thick finger, "-but it's not the best for force and control. So I figure I'll work some ferrous additions into key parts of my armor, maybe add some supports to make it hold onto my form better during launch, and BOOM! We've got a Bismuth delivery system!"

P2 was literally bouncing with excitement. "It could also be used recreationally: that has the potential to be even better than the roller coasters Amethyst and I rode previously." Eyes widening, she gripped Bismuth's spice-covered tunic. "Can I ride on your shoulders when we test this?!"

With a booming laugh, Bismuth clapped P2 twice on the back, the remainder of her fries forgotten and dropped where they toppled into a distant lava flow. "There's no reason we can't make a suit of some kind for you too, gal!"

"I had no idea weapons development could be so enjoyable!"

Bismuth stepped back and looked intently at her. In a serious tone, she said, "P2, weapons _are_ fun."

P2 met her stare and nodded, another revelation added to her tally for the day.

A smile returning to her face, Bismuth pivoted around and swept an arm across P2's shoulders, leading the gem toward the forge. "Come on, let's go inside and get down to _Bismuth!"_

P2 giggled and from more than just amusement at the joke, heading eagerly inside.

* * *

According to Bismuth, Peridot had built the decontamination station outside the forge after Connie's birthday. After returning to the Beach House following a visit with Bismuth had earned P2 a hydrokinetically-assisted ejection into the ocean along with a firm order not to return until P2 had 'sank the sulfur stank,' she'd made a point of always using the facility before warping back to the pseudo-human dwelling.

Seeing as P2 was hoping to meet with Peridot specifically, she made a note to inform her that the fluid reservoir for the concluding pine scent spray was getting low.

As P2 stepped off the Beach House warp pad she saw Steven looking up at her with excited eyes. She smiled. Steven's expression diminished a little --he was probably waiting on others-- but he still rose from the couch to happily greet her.

"Hi P2." // "Hello Steven!"

Steven was a hugger. She really liked that about him; in fact, it was one of her favorite facets about the human. During the embrace she briefly consulted the spreadsheet where she catalogued and ordered her favorite qualities of the others and discovered it was in fact her third-most favorite quality about him.

"Ooh, piney," complimented Steven. "You usually have a really nice smell to you, P2, whether it's powdered sugar or cinnamon or something like that." He smiled brightly in approval before he pivoted and returned to the couch.

"Thank you," she replied. Wanting to return the compliment with one of her own, she said, "And I'm quite grateful I didn't exterminate you when you tried to escape my custody in the Prime Kindergarten control center!"

Steven flinched, one hand going up to poke his ear as if to adjust mechanisms where none existed. Did humans have volume controls on their exterior, because that _would_ be convenient. "Yeah, uh, me too," he added a bit less brightly.

A box was open on the adjacent cushion and the coffee table was covered with eye-catching cards and plastic pieces. P2 walked over and bent at the waist in curiosity. "Are you doing something?"

Steven's cheer returned swiftly, showcasing item number six of P2's spreadsheet. "I'm waiting for Connie to get back from going to check on the Cluster with Miss Peridot so that we can play the copy of _Citchen Calamity: Cooking Clean Up Edition_. I Kickstarter'd this months ago and it finally came in!"

P2 studied the chipper and deliberately misspelled components with interest. "Are you and Connie going to operate a bakery? Is this a plastic and cardboard training simulation? Because I can be your first customer if you're accepting orders." Her limb enhancer dispensed a P2 coin Earth-side up into a waiting floating finger. "I even have currency!"

Steven marveled at the coin for a few seconds before handing back. "Sorry, P2. I'm not actually going to be baking anything with Connie, this is just a game. I've been trying to go over the rules so that me and Connie can play right after she gets back --She's always super in need of some fun after riding the Cluster elevator-- but I usually need to play a game a time or two before I can actually get the rules right."

P2 plopped down in the 'L' of the couch to Steven's right. "Then we should play while you and I wait for Connie and Peridot, respectively."

Steven's eyes lit up. "That's a great idea! Thanks P2!" His eyes tracked over the cluttered table before he thrust a cardboard square with rotating arrow in the middle. "Here, you can do the Culinary Catastrophe spinner each round."

A floating finger gave the device a flick, which made a satisfying _vrrr_ noise before the arrow landed on 'Problematic Produce'. P2 gave a pleased giggle.

Steven smiled up at her before burying his face in an instruction manual. "See, unlike the original Citchen Calamity, the Cooking Clean Up edition is cooperative. Each player is part of a team of chefs trying to get the citchen- I mean, kitchen cleaned up before time runs out while still getting people their food on time. I'm playing as Sue Shef and you're Samuel Ay and we..."

* * *

With three grease fires burning, the toaster shorted out, and the salad spinner spinning out of control, their kitchen truly was a calamity. Then the catastrophe spinner landed on ‘sud flood’ and P2 said to Steven that she thought it would be swifter to open the kitchen airlock and vent the contents into space than undo all the in-progress disasters. He objected to the idea at first but then Peridot and a weary Connie appeared on the warp pad and the game ended with the howl of atmospheric decompression, Steven and P2 shaking the pieces into the 'hard vacuum' of the game's box while the pair made whooshing noises.

Honestly, it reminded P2 of the conclusion of one of Amethyst's more notorious capers aboard the Zoo station.

As Connie and Steven embraced, Peridot shot P2 a questioning look and angled her head toward the temple door. P2 nodded and jogged after the unenhanced gem.

Stepping into Peridot's room in the temple, P2 noticed that the lava flows smelled like soil, earthy but oddly refreshing.

Already an ersatz data terminal as well as a quartet of tools were floating out of Peridot's satchel to orbit her head just above her field of vision. The miniature gate barring the bridge to the workshop was made of plastic, but the latching mechanism was metallic and so it popped open and swung out in advance of Peridot and P2's arrival.

Peridot wasn’t enhanced but she was empowered, and P2 found herself quietly in awe of her rebel counterpart's abilities.

"It is so amazing that you have metallokinesis!"

P2 was also loudly in awe of said abilities.

Peridot turned, surprised, then she smirked. "It is a very pleasing addition, I will admit," she replied with a warship barrage of understatement. As she stepped up to her workshop and began hovering tools and equipment about as a prelude to tinkering, she asked in a more business-like fashion, "Is there a matter you wish to discuss with me?"

"Yes." P2 consulted her list. "Several, in fact. To start, the pine scent reservoir in the forge's decontamination station is getting low. If you'll provide me the refill I can-" A sealed cylinder labeled 'Camp Pining Scents' hovered out of the recesses of Peridot's heaps of inventory, landing at P2's gravity connectors. "Ah, excellent. Thank you."

"You're welcome," answered Peridot. She sniffed. "And thank you for making regular use of that device. Despite frequent reminders, Bismuth is not always so diligent." The ersatz terminal, meanwhile, hovered over to a docking station, data streaming out for analysis while the device charged.

P2 grinned in response, one floating finger hovering out to Peridot. Recognizing the gesture, Peridot levitated a green-handled screwdriver over handle-first to lightly bump the floating finger end-on. It was a small display of acknowledgement between Peridots working in Homeworld space. Verbal recognition wasn't always feasible, either because of space's vacuum or the presence of a supervisor that prohibited what they deemed 'chitchat'. However, a single floating finger-to-floating finger bump was both versatile and inconspicuous.

Peridot gave a small smile, her expression taking on a decidedly nostalgic air.

"The main thing I wanted to meet with you about," explained P2, "was that I have sensor data which should allow you to better exclude Rose Quartz from the warp network, a possible precaution against further unexpected cunning from her Pearl."

"Yes, Pearl's abilities of artifice confounded me early on," agreed Peridot. "It was only after I met her personally and was able to study a sample of her work that I realized the obvious: she is every bit as smart and determined as she needs be to stray into our specialty. If she weren't an accomplice to Rose's invasion, I'd be fascinated to ply her for ideas: she brings an extreme outsider's view to her work."

Meanwhile, P2 broadcast a holographic display of data, a pink gemstone visible therein, and nudged it over to Peridot to scrutinize. With a curt nod of acknowledgement from Peridot, the two got to work devising warp network countermeasures.

It was an hour later, the pair looking at a visualization of the new warp network restrictions in place, that P2 joked, "I think the two of us are about to create our own version of Diamond-tier restrictions."

"What would that be called?" replied Peridot. "Pair-o'-Dots-tier?" and she gave an amused cackle at the pun.

"Authorization Two-Dot-Oh!" answered P2, giggling.

"Di-mond-tier!" squealed Peridot, her cackle going silent when she noticed P2's look of confusion. "Because the prefix 'di' means two, like 'dichotomy'... That last one may have been reaching."

P2 blinked, got the joke, then giggled, returning the slight grin to Peridot's face. "I like it. I wonder if our Diamond will like it as well. I'm already making a note to ask her when I get to speak with her at some point in the future."

This time the silence was coming from Peridot, the gem suddenly looking awkward.

P2 closed the data streaming across her visor with a blink and studied the green gem in front of her. "I understand that fulfilling Pink Diamond's mission to me won't necessarily happen soon or happen easily, but that doesn't mean we can't visualize the happy conclusion of it."

Peridot shook her head. "You said 'our Diamond'. Despite a certain lingering... sentimentality of mine, she hasn't been my Diamond for many centuries."

P2 was thoughtful. "Did you know that she praised my work once?"

Peridot's face was blank for a second before understanding blossomed. "Yellow Diamond, one third of the ruling triad of Homeworld, complimented your work? _Personally?"_ Her expression was equal parts skeptical and hungry for details.

P2 drew herself up, the warmth of pride radiating through her form. "Several Peridots were selected to enter the Diamond Sanctum on the Zoo station to learn the techniques of shard sculpting, me included. Our instructor was an Era-1 Peridot. We had several visitors, usually Topaz security sweeps, though Rose Quartz was present sometimes even if she only seldom interacted. But then one day Yellow Diamond entered the Sanctum!"

Peridot's eyes were wide, the gem hanging on P2's words.

P2's grin broadened. "Our instructor apologized, assuming it was a scheduling error --Our training was suspended whenever the Sanctum was reserved by one or more of the Diamonds-- but Yellow Diamond's Pearl explained that this was a surprise inspection. For six minutes and eighteen seconds we were all standing in _Her_ presence, our Diamond examining our work. Two Peridots were sent away in disgrace when our Diamond disapproved of their handiwork but she said only one other thing while studying our forced fusions. Holding mine up for scrutiny, she said, 'This one is acceptable.'” P2 shuddered at the memory, falling silent for a beat. “We all left the Sanctum after and returned to our previous assignments. The others were _so_ jealous of me!"

Peridot scoffed. "How could they not be?"

A pleased hum escaped the mottled gem and she said, "A cycle later and I was transferred to the Zoo station permanently and given a new assignment, the one that ultimately brought me to Earth." She rocked on her gravity connectors. "Pretty amazing, huh?"

The other Peridot nodded, her eyes staring into the middle distance. Several seconds passed and then she said softly, "I heard her voice once." As if sensing that that was inadequate, she added, "It was in praise of me but very, erm, indirectly."

P2 leaned forward, eager to hear more.

Her eyes still unfocused, Peridot said, "My supervising Peridot was this hard cut Era-1. And it was her policy that we make additional verifications on all imported components of Agate-tier or above-"

"Agate-tier or higher?" blurted out P2. "That'd mean verifying between a third and half of your requisitions!"

"PRECISELY!" answered Peridot, voice loud in response to the commiseration. "One of the Peridots from a different shift had even written an angry diatribe about our supervisor into the station's source code, hidden in the debug layer of an obscure protocol. Probably half the Peridots stationed there had added a line or two last I'd checked it."

P2 snickered so hard she snorted. 

Peridot chuckled and shook her head in response, grin wide. Then the unenhanced Peridot continued her tale. "It didn't make her popular, but our station was in the top decile for system efficiency and uptime, so the results were undeniable. And at one point our-" Peridot cleared her throat. "At one point Yellow Diamond had an initiative to reduce empire-wide maintenance which prompted her to simultaneously broadcast a message to the most and least-reliable stations in her purview. Ours was among the former and I happened to be performing a diagnostic on the power conduits in the hallway outside the bridge at the time. I couldn't see the broadcast, but I could hear it and _She-"_ Peridot's voice wavered slightly. "-offered merits and demerits to the station managers thereof, _by name._ She said that our manager, 'Had consistently performed above-average.' She hadn't mentioned me. She hadn't mentioned any of us, only our supervisor, but we all knew that her accomplishment was our accomplishment. It wouldn't have been possible without our diligence and acumen, after all. And we all basked in that fact. The sound of her voice, though, I'll never forget it."

P2 was nodding her head. "She's not just bigger or louder-"

"No, there's a quality there, of being _more_ that is as undeniable as it is indefinable. You can hear it," agreed Peridot.

"You can see it too," assured P2.

Peridot was once more staring off, this time towards her feet. Her expression was thoughtful before it curved into a frown. "Be that as it may, I have a new home and a new cause. I have a daughter and a family and would give none of them up no matter how awe-inspiring Yellow Diamond may be. Not even for a picosecond."

P2 shrugged. "From what Pink Diamond told me, you don't have to. The Earth has important things to offer the Diamonds. I strongly suspect your breakthroughs regarding Era-3 are part of that, though Pink Diamond wasn't explicit. You can still be of service to our Diamond while being a rebel, just like I am of service to the Rebellion while being loyal to Homeworld."

Peridot opened her mouth to speak but said nothing, the gem instead offering a wordless nod. Whether she agreed with the idea, or simply the sentiment behind it, was unclear. Finally she said, "Even though I am no longer Yellow Diamond's Peridot, I suspect she will, on some level, always be my Diamond."

"It's how we are made," offered P2.

"It is," agreed Peridot. With a sigh and a straightening of her shoulders, the technician said, "I will see if I can further tighten our warp security protocol and inform you of the results. Thank you for the additional sensor data, as well as the, erm, anecdotes. They were... appreciated."

P2 turned to walk for the exit without pausing for a farewell embrace -- unless Lapis or Connie were involved, Peridot wasn’t a hugger. It was one way she and Steven differed. Then, when P2 was nearing the door, a green screwdriver wafted over. She smiled to see it and extended a floating finger to bump it end-on, an acknowledgement between technicians but this time initiated by Peridot.

P2 smiled widely and gave a wave goodbye for good measure before stepping out of the temple.

* * *

From her nook across the Beach House interior, Lapis looked up from the human-made report she was studying and asked, "Hey. Is Dot still busy in there?" The sun was visibly setting behind her, the orange light casting fascinating shadows across the otherwise familiar interior.

P2 walked closer, smiling at the ancient and powerful Era-1, marveling to herself at the gem’s complete lack of pyrite impurities. Or rather, lack of visible pyrite impurities; Bismuth had once mentioned freckles but P2 had never learned where those were. "Yeah. We were working on a means of better excluding Rose Quartz from the warp network and she was still at it when I left."

Lapis rolled her eyes, uncrossing her ankles and then recrossing them the other way. "Typical. We get a day or two of chill and my gal pal is obsessing over another gem. Is it because Rose Quartz is higher on the Moh scale? Because she has a lower specific gravity? Ah, who am I kidding, it's because of her cleavage."

P2 stood there for a second turning that statement over before she clicked to the meaning, a laugh tumbling out of her form. "Those are all references to the scientific qualities used by humans to measure gemstones, but with a double-meaning because-" and P2 started to gesture and Lapis nodded back, amused at P2's amusement.

Setting her report aside, Lapis said, "I can see why you and BM get along so well. Normally if she wants her jokes to kill this well, they have to involve a blast radius. How's she doing, by the way?"

P2, still chuckling, walked over with the 'clank clank clank' of gravity connectors on wood. "Really well. We had a fun tinkering session earlier." Her gaze fell on the open report and, like she was caught in a gravitational pull, she stooped to be nearer to it. "What is this?" she asked.

"Huh?" Lapis looked down. "It's _Baka Bakaneko Bakery_. It's a manga about these talking cats that-" but she was interrupted by P2.

Holding up the manga, P2 was tapping on a scene where two cat-human hybrids were tussling over a plate populated by colorful lumpy shapes. She had no idea what those were but something about them was _calling to her._ "These. What..." she gawked a little longer. "What are they?"

Lapis peered closer to the report, brows furrowing. "Huh?" Then she drew back and looked at P2 searchingly. "That's a plate of mochi."

"Mochi." P2 said the word as if tasting it. It was a good word. "I haven’t seen those at the Big Donut."

"Naw, they're more of a Japanese goodie than something you get state-side," explained Lapis casually.

When P2 continued to stare, Lapis quirked her head to the side and she smirked. "Wanna go try some?"

"Yes!" exclaimed P2. She dispensed a coin and offered one to Lapis. "Will they accept these in exchange?"

Lapis studied the coin for a second then passed it back. "Maybe, but I've got something better. Repeat after me: Dagu-san no kurejittokādo o motte iru."

" Dagu-san no kure-" P2's understanding of the words caused her to pause. "'I have Doug's credit card'... That phrase works better than minted gold currency?"

Walking unhurriedly toward the warp pad, Lapis called back, "Pretty much. At least, ever since Doug switched away from using American Express. Now come on: there’re mochis to munch."

* * *

P2 and Lapis had returned from Japan an hour later to find Peridot talking with Jasper, the latter covered in a powdery white substance. P2 had asked if Jasper had also been consuming confections and received only a silent stare in response. It came out that Jasper was, in fact, covered in a fine dusting of snow, a result of being on patrol in the northern part of the continent.

Lapis had then stepped beside Peridot, weaving her arms through the gem's, and said that Jasper really should take P2 with her on patrol. When Jasper had asked with her gaze why she'd do that, Lapis had answered with a side-eye to her and Peridot and then a pleading head tilt toward the warp pad.

It was an impressive bout of non-verbal communication, something the people on Earth showed a real knack for. Yet another thing P2 looked forward to someday mastering herself.

“Have fun, you two!” called Lapis, Peridot leaning into the gem’s shoulder. Lapis took one glance down and added, “Don’t hurry back!”

With a flash, P2 and Jasper warped over to a snow-encircled warp pad in front of a giant wailing stone. Even in the dark of night, P2 could see the Era-1 workmanship that had gone into fabricating the enormous, antiquated communication device.

P2 started to raise a topic of conversation when Jasper had silenced her with a gesture.

"Quiet. Listen."

With that, the Quartz turned to resume her patrolling, P2 wordlessly following after her. When, five minutes later, it proved impossible for the Era-2 to keep pace with the gemetically flawless Quartz through the heavy snow, she raised a limb enhancer and helicoptered into the air.

P2 called down to Jasper whenever a topic or observation seemed too exciting to keep to herself. When Jasper didn’t ignore her, the Quartz repeated her instructions from before.

"Quiet. Listen."

P2 began building a list for conversation for when she and Jasper were able to converse later. However, she kept getting pulled from her list-building by little details. For example, the Earth made a sound when snow was falling en mass. It was a kind of whispered susurrus and strangely compelling.

When Jasper paused to examine some tracks, P2 mentioned this phenomenon, to which Jasper gave her previous reply.

"Quiet. Listen."

The terrain was indistinct in the darkness (the LIDAR-provided contents of her HUD overlay notwithstanding), but there was a feeling of calm that came from progressing through seemingly endless, quiet surroundings.

When the moon emerged from behind the thick clouds, the landscape twinkled with an ethereal quality that P2 had never noticed before. This was surprising because she and Amethyst had trekked across some of these very hills shortly after plummeting to Earth in their shared escape pod. Even when it had snowed on them, the experience then and now were almost completely unique.

Eventually the snow overhead tapered off, though a thick blanket of it still covered the ground. The wind blew and P2 could see fleeting patterns in the swept-along snow. With the moon angled right, something glimmered in the distance.

They came to a body of water, the surface frozen into a flawless pane of ice. Jasper's patrol took her around it. While the Quartz made her circumnavigation, P2 hovered above, marveling at the scattered reflections made by moonlight and the dim glow of her enhancers. She generated a small ball of plasma and waved it about only to see the green light fractured and reflected back a thousand times across not only the lake but the ice-laden trees lining it.

There was even a tang to the air that was distinct from what she experienced in Delmarva, the atmosphere _tasting different_ because of the heightened northern cold as well as the aromatic qualities of the surrounding plant life. In fact, while P2 could detect similarities between the pine scent from the decontamination station and the night-shrouded forest of pines, there were little distinctions to appreciate when you took the time to observe them.

She was going to call this fact down to Jasper but she noticed the orange gem looking up at her. The Quartz gave her a nod of understanding then turned to resume the patrol.

P2 followed after, modulating her rotary fingers to keep them as silent as possible.

When they arrived at their destination warp some hours later, P2 smiled at Jasper.

"Good talk," said the Quartz in a soft voice.

"Yes, it was," agreed P2.

Looking to Jasper, she asked, "Again later?"

A pause, then a nod. "Sure."

The two warped back to the outskirts of Beach City in companionable silence.

* * *

The horizon was glowing dimly but the stars still shone overhead. P2 took a deep breath of the chill Beach City air --she could tell the difference now-- and exhaled, smiling. With a thought, her schedule for the day streamed across the interior of her visor and she smiled.

Another exciting day was about to begin. And, in her opinion, in one of the best possible ways.

Sadie walked over, looking even stockier than normal in her winter layers. She already had the key in hand when she noticed the gem. "Oh, hey P2." She unlocked the door and pocketed the key. "Gimme a minute to get the B.D. opened up and then I'll take your order."

She held the door open and P2 stepped through, smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the team, P2! This is for really-reals the end of Ep39, so tune in next Wednesday, the 15th, for the start of _Ep40: Out With The Old!_
> 
> In case you're curious about the terms Lapis used in her quip to P2, we have [Mohs scale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohs_scale_of_mineral_hardness), [specific gravity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_gravity), and [cleavage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleavage_\(crystal\)).
> 
> Barriga really does mean 'belly', as the [SU wiki points out.](https://steven-universe.fandom.com/wiki/Lars_Barriga#Trivia) Also, Peridot and P2's anecdotes to one another were first mentioned in Ep36Ch7 and Ep39Ch2, respectively.
> 
> Lapis' Japanese ("ダグさんのクレジットカードを持っている。" or "Dagu-san no kurejittokādo o motte iru.") is courtesy of [citrusella](https://archiveofourown.org/users/citrusella/pseuds/citrusella). Thanks for the assist; much better than the clumsy Google Translate job I did originally.
> 
> Oh, and several theorists and reviewers in the CS Discord have pointed out the possibility of us pulling a reverse of the fastball special shown in canon (see below), an idea so delightful I had to include it here as part of P2's fun with Bismuth regardless of the possibility of it showing up later in the fic.  

> 
> * * *
> 
> Moving on from the chapter, I'm pleased as heck to share some delightful new fan art by the wonderful [Alice Aktorka](https://twitter.com/AliceAktorka), who has drawn the core CGs as cats! Check this meowt!  

> 
> And here are all the individual cat!characters:  
  
  
  
  

> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Keeping track of all the updates to Connie Swap can get a little difficult, can't it? It doesn't have to be! If you go to the [Connie Swap Series](http://archiveofourown.org/series/630527) page and click the "**Subscribe**" button then you will receive an email alert every time a new episode is posted or a new chapter is added to _ANY_ fic in Connie Swap.
> 
> One button. All the updates.


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